


Everyone Has Secrets

by MadAboutGrey



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:27:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 32,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26978104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadAboutGrey/pseuds/MadAboutGrey
Summary: When the body reveals its secrets, there's no turning back. The good news is, when the truth is out you'll know what you're dealing with. The bad news is, it might already be too late to do anything about it
Relationships: Meredith Grey/Derek Shepherd
Comments: 4
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, new story time! I have too many ideas that end up being stories I can't stop writing. Enjoy!

The past week had been hard, and that was an understatement. She stretched under the sheets, feeling the ache in her muscles that protested against the movement. She groaned softly and climbed out of the bed, yawning as she did so. 

She’d been back in Seattle, almost permanently, for three months now after being away for the past couple years, having spent that time training at hospitals across Europe. Being so well known across both the American and European medical communities, it was tiring. Her days were spent corresponding with countries across the US and Europe via countless emails and phone calls for consults and questions about her most recent articles. The most relaxed she felt was being in the OR, but that in itself, after the surgery was over, dumped more exhaustion and aches on her body. The only other thing that relaxed her was something she’d began whilst she had spent 8 months in Germany. Walking. 

She could walk for hours, enjoying the nature around her, clearing her mind of any and all stresses of the week. That’s what she planned to do today. 

She quickly showered and changed into her usual walking gear, yoga pants, T-shirt and windbreaker, and running shoes in case she felt like having a jog whilst she was out. She checked the weather before she headed out, feeling a slight joy that others, specifically Cristina, would find strange from the fact it was due to rain in an hour or so. She fastened up her windbreaker jacket before getting in the car, driving to the trail she’d found only a few weeks prior. 

* * *

The wind danced through the strands of her hair that had become loose from her ponytail as it’s speed picked up with the passing time. She must’ve been out walking for over an hour at this point, even though she knew there was a forecast of wind and rain, but she was determined to complete her usual Sunday afternoon walk through the forest land she had discovered a few weeks prior. 

Her hand touched against the bark of a nearby tree, feeling the roughness beneath her fingers, inhaling the earthy scent of the woods around her, closing her eyes a moment as she did so. Her eyes snapped open as she heard a rustle nearby, looking in the direction of the noise for the source, frowning a little when she didn’t see anything. She shrugged a little to herself and continued walking, a small rush of simple pleasure running through her as she heard the crunch of the leaves under her feet. 

She stopped a moment at the grand oak tree in front of her, looking up at the leaves that rustled in the wind, a soft laugh escaping her lips as drops of rain started to fall on her forehead. 

“Did the tree tell you a joke?” 

She spun around as she heard the voice speak from behind her, and a young-ish looking male, approximately 5’10” in height with dark hair was standing there, hands in his pockets, and leaning against a tree as though he had been watching her for some time. She took in his appearance, his hair dishevelled from the wind, dressed in grey joggers and a fleece, a soft grin on his face as their eyes met. 

“No,” she said with a small shake of her head, smiling slightly as she bit her bottom lip. The rain started to come down heavier now and she pulled up the hood of her windbreaker. 

“Why the laughter?” He asked still grinning, his head tilting to the side a little. 

“I just enjoy the rain,” she said, her smile turning into a grin as she looked up into the sky again, becoming slightly aware of the grass beneath her becoming saturated and splashing dirt against her shins. 

“Do you come this way a lot?” He asked, moving closer a little, but stopping when she looked at him again, droplets of rain now dripping from the tip of her nose. 

“Only recently,” she said with a shrug, wiping the rain from her nose before stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket as she felt the bite of the cold against her fingertips, “Do you?”

“I used to,” he said, “I’ve just moved back to the area and wondered if it was still the same… it hasn’t changed in the past ten years, that’s for sure.”

“Not much does change around here,” she said with a soft laugh, looking down at her feet as she kicked a few leaves around. 

“You’ve lived around here a long time?” He asked, and she looked back up at him, seeing the genuine curiosity in his expression.

“Kind of, I have a love/hate relationship with Seattle,” she said with a soft laugh.

“I can imagine that,” he said with a soft chuckle. 

“I should get going, I’ll never hear the end of it if I get a cold from being out in the rain,” she said with a slight laugh, feeling a tangle of nerves in her stomach as she realised how much closer they were standing together. 

“Maybe I’ll see you around here again,” he said, running his hand through his damp hair, and she noticed the flicker of his eyes from her lips to her eyes again. 

“Yeah, maybe,” she said, feeling a slight blush rise to her cheeks, biting her lower lip again as she felt the sudden urge to kiss the stranger. 

As though he could read her mind, he stepped forward, cupping her cheek with hand as his lips moulded against hers in a soft kiss, practically taking her breath away. She froze a moment before returning the kiss, moving her lips back against his, almost as though they were made to fit. 

He pulled back reluctantly as the rain started getting heavier, his eyes meeting hers as the foreheads touched and the hood of her jacket fell down, her hair getting wet now from the pouring down rain. 

“I’m sorry,” he said in a soft murmur, a soft chuckle escaping him, “I couldn’t help myself.”

“It’s okay,” she said quietly, stepping back as she pressed her lips together, “Maybe we’ll see each other again.”

“I hope so,” he said with a half smile. 

She laughed softly and turned on her heel, her hands in her pockets again and a slight blush on her cheeks as she continued walking along her familiar trail. She could still feel his eyes on her back as she walked away. 

It felt like a fever dream. One minute she was on a peaceful walk, enjoying her surroundings, the feel of the rain on her skin. The next, she was lip-locked with an unimaginably handsome stranger, and she enjoyed it. Now, she was walking away, back in the direction of where she had parked her car. 

* * *

He watched her walking away, entranced by the air she held around her. He hadn’t met someone who instantly made him feel this way… ever. He wanted to go after her, get a name, a number. See her again. But by the time his mind had returned from turning to mush in her presence, he couldn’t see where she had walked to. He just had to hope he’d see her again. 

He walked the trail that led him to the back of his parents’ house, jumping over the back fence into the garden, completely forgetting his mom would have been able to see him through the kitchen window. He walked in the back door, wiping his feet on the doormat before taking his shoes off as he heard his mother’s shrill voice. 

“Derek! I wish you would stop jumping over that damn fence,” she said, tutting a little, “I thought you’d have outgrown that after all these years.”

“Sorry, Ma,” he said, grinning at her and pressing a kiss to the top of her head with a soft chuckle, “I promise I’ll fix it if it breaks.”

“I’m more worried about you than the fence, Derek,” she said as she cleaned around the kitchen side.

“I’ll be fine,” he said with another soft chuckle, grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge and taking a swig from it, “Is Mark about or did he head to the hospital already?”

“He went out about an hour ago, got a call to go in,” Carolyn said, “You going in as well?”

“I will if they call,” he said, sitting at the counter. 

“Maybe shower just in case,” she said with a raised eyebrow, looking over at him, “What did you need Mark for anyway? You only ask me where he is when you need something from him.”

“It’s nothing,” he said, looking down at the water bottle in his hands but his attempt at lying was frivolous. He couldn’t hide anything from her. 

“What’s her name?” She asked, pulling a tray of cookies out the oven and putting them to cool. 

“That’s the thing, I don’t know her name,” he said, looking up at the cookies she’d just taken out, “I just met her, out on the trail out back.”

“And you didn’t get her name?” She said with a laugh, taking off her baking apron and hanging it up, “Is this the part where you scour the city for her?”

“I debated it,” he said with a soft chuckle, running his fingers through his hair. 

“I’m sure you’ll see her again, just live your life and if you’re meant to see her again, the universe will make it happen,” she said, patting him on the shoulder before leaving the room. 

He lowered his head into his hands, seeing her face again when he closed his eyes, a face he felt like he’d seen before. The way her eyes reflected the minimal sunlight, the blush that rose on her cheeks and they way her lower lip was trapped under her teeth. The way she laughed at the touch of the rain and the joy that was obvious in her eyes. He was totally and a hundred percent smitten. And he had to see her again. 

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

She arrived at the hospital early that morning, ready for the presentation she was due to give to her mother’s residents in less than an hour. She stopped by the coffee cart and ordered both her and Cristina’s regular coffee order before going to seek her out, knowing she would have just gotten out of her early morning surgery.. 

As she walked through the halls of the hospital, she found her mind wandering back to the stranger she’d met on her walk the previous day. She even found herself biting her lip involuntarily as she thought about the kiss they’d shared. They way he had stood so confident in front of her. Surely, most would find it creepy the way he kissed her, a complete stranger, in the middle of the woods on a Sunday afternoon. She found it… intriguing.

“Do you want to get your head out of the clouds long enough to give me the caffeine?” 

The sound of Cristina’s voice snapped her out of her daydream and she felt the slight blush on her cheeks as she realised she’d been caught out, and would definitely have to explain herself. 

“Oh, here,” she said, passing over the coffee cup, taking a sip of her own drink.

“Where’s your mind this morning? It can’t be that Brian guy, can it? Because I’m telling you this as your best friend, he’s about as interesting as a plank of wood,” Cristina said, not holding back as usual with her bluntness, especially before getting a chance for the caffeine to set in.

“ _ Brian _ ? I ended that like, a week ago,” Meredith said with a slight frown, “I swore I told you that.”

“I got the memo, I was just making sure you hadn’t started regretting ending it,” Cristina said, leaning back against the nurses’ station, “but then that begs the question, who has got Meredith Grey’s head in the clouds?”

“I wish I could tell you, but I don’t even know his name,” Meredith admitted, her arm leaning against the same work station beside Cristina. 

“Admiring from afar? Okay, we can work with that,” Cristina said with a nod. 

“Not that either, not exactly,” Meredith murmured, to which Cristina raised her eyebrows again, wanting further explanation, “Well, I went on my walk yesterday and there was this guy and he was doing the whole, I know I look good, and he  _ did _ look good and then he kissed me and I kissed him back, and I didn’t ask his name because I may have freaked a little and left.”

“Oh, so now you’re off kissing a stranger in the woods, who could very well be an axe murderer or major creepy stalker, and you didn’t even get his name? Is this something that Europeans do?” Cristina asked, seemingly impressed with the little drama that seemed to be happening in her best friend’s life, yet slightly concerned at Meredith’s out of character behaviour.. 

“No! I mean, I don’t think so,” Meredith said with a frown, “anyway, he said he walks around there sometimes, so maybe I’ll see him again, next Sunday.”

“Sometimes you romanticise things far too much,” Cristina said with a shake of her head.

“Don’t swear at me with words like  _ romance _ ,” Meredith said with a grimace, nudging her fiend in the shoulder. 

“You’re the one being all mushy and getting lost in your own thoughts,” Cristina said with a laugh. 

“Maybe I have to run away to Europe again,” Meredith teased with a shrug before she started walking away in the direction of her mother’s office. 

“Don’t you dare, Grey!” Cristina called after her down the hallway, laughing. 

Meredith glanced back at her with a grin, letting her know she was joking before finishing off the coffee, dumping the empty cup in the bin. She let herself into her mother’s office, dropping her bag on the sofa before taking off her coat. She must already have gone to the auditorium, or have been pulled in on an emergent surgery, which wouldn’t surprise Meredith too much. 

She was dressed far more formally than she preferred today, swapping her regular jeans out for black, flared dress pants whilst one of her comfortable jumpers had been swapped out for a beige blouse she’d picked up during her year spent in Paris. She even wore her hair down today, normally having it up in plaits pinned to her head, or a messy bun if she didn’t have time for that, and her wavy curls fell lightly on her shoulders.

With twenty minutes to go until the start of the presentation, she donned the lab coat that had been left for her and made sure her pass was visible, putting her phone in her pocket. She picked her bag up that held her laptop and the pile of notes she’d prepared on Saturday night, holding it over her shoulder. Her mind ran through the presentation she was about to make as she walked through the halls to the main lecture theatre, she probably had the whole thing committed to memory by now the number of times she had been over it. 

She entered the auditorium that had already begun to be filled by eager residents and approached the stage, knowing there were eyes on her, but ignoring them. She was used to it by now. Richard was already up on the stage, waiting for her with Ellis. 

“Morning, guys,” she greeted them, setting the laptop down and plugging it into the connector for the projector. 

“Meredith,” her mother greeted her, coming over to her and kissing both cheeks, something she was sure Ellis had picked up in France and never stopped doing since, “I can’t stay, I’ve got a surgery scheduled, I just wanted to make sure you were here and ready.”

“It’s okay, Mom, I made it, I’m here,” she said with a soft laugh as she brought up the presentation on her laptop as Richard had the projector in the room turned on. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll go,” Ellis said, giving her one last hug, “Good luck, I know you’ll do amazing, teach everyone a thing or two.”

“It’s just a presentation, Mom, I do them all the time,” she said with a roll of her eyes. 

“Come and find me after, there’s things we need to discuss,” Ellis said before leaving the stage and heading out into the main hospital.

“Does she want to discuss what I think she wants to discuss?” Meredith asked Richard as she got everything set up, the auditorium starting to get more packed by the second. 

“It’s the same every time you come here, she wants you to stay permanently this time,” he said with a chuckle.

“I like not being tied down, Richard, she knows this,” Meredith said with a soft laugh. 

“I know, Meredith,” he said, gently patting her shoulder, “She just wants you to know there’s a place here if you want it.”

“I know, I appreciate it, I do,” she said with a small smile. 

“It’s good to see you again,” he said with a wider grin, “Oh, and it’s not just residents, some of the attendings, and the new head of neurosurgery wanted to sit in as well.”

“Oh,” she said, shrugging a little, “That’s fine.”

“Go on, go backstage,” Richard said and she laughed softly as he encouraged her to the backstage area, always one for the dramatic entrance, although she was sure most people had already seen her anyway and there really was no need for it.

* * *

The auditorium, previously empty, was beginning to fill with each passing second. Swarms of curious faces, scrambling to find their seats, before the lights dimmed and the presentation they were all eagerly awaiting would start. Derek, with a few minutes to spare, sat beside Mark, near the front but not quite in the front row, having both as new colleagues been invited to the presentation by Dr Webber. 

Meredith Grey was a name he knew well, he’d read her articles and followed her trials and he had to say he was impressed by her work, if not slightly envious of her obvious talent. 

“Thank god, you made it. You know, I just saw her before you got here and she’s actually hot for being a brainiac,” Mark commented, “any luck on finding your mystery girl from the forest?”

“Since you asked an hour ago? No,” Derek said with a roll of his eyes, “and should you really be saying that about the Chief’s daughter?”

“What the Chief doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” Mark said with a shrug.

“I feel like Ellis Grey is one of those people who just  _ knows _ everything,” Derek muttered, and before Mark could respond, Richard started talking, bringing a silence over the room as they waited in anticipation. 

“Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today, we’ll be getting started momentarily. Just a few things to go over first…” Richard continued, going over a few notices with the residents and few attendings who had joined them in the auditorium. 

“Okay, and now, let me introduce you to world-class neurosurgeon, Dr Meredith Grey,” he gestured to the side of the stage, a round of applause engulfing the room. 

Derek was frozen to his seat, the only part of his body that moved must’ve been his eyes as he watched her walk out onto the stage and take Richard’s place at the podium. He immediately recognised her, and at the same time realised how he had recognised the beauty he had happened upon in the woods. And  _ kissed. _

He found himself sinking in his seat as she started talking to the room, half-hoping she wouldn’t notice him. He’d wanted them to meet again, sure, but right here? Right now? Definitely not. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her as she spoke, the way she caught the attention of everyone in the room, how she clearly enjoyed speaking about her work. He was only broken out of his stupot by an elbow in his arm. 

“See what I said? She’s gorgeous,” Mark commented in a quiet murmur. 

“Mark, shut up,” he murmured back, cautious of any attention being brought to them. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Mark glanced at him with a whisper. 

“That’s her, that’s the girl from the woods,” he muttered, running his hand over his face. 

“Ha!” Mark scoffed, keeping as quiet as possible, looking between Meredith and Derek, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I thought I’d recognised her from somewhere, now I know where,” his eyes were fixed on Meredith again, who hadn’t seemed to have seen him in the audience, “I need to get out of here.”

“I’m sure you’re catastrophizing this one, Derek,” Mark said, glancing at Derek a moment before focusing his attention back on the presentation, “at least stay for the presentation, it’s actually really interesting.”

“It really is,” Derek murmured, going back to focusing on the presentation himself, but continually glancing between the screen and Meredith. 

Just as her presentation was coming to an end, Derek’s pager buzzed for his attention, and he checked it to see he was being summoned to the ER on a 911. This was his scapegoat. 

“I’ve gotta go, apologise to Richard for me,” Derek murmured to Mark before getting up out of his seat as discreetly as possible and leaving the auditorium. 

As soon as he left the room, he released the breath he hadn’t even realised he’d been holding. Of course, his mystery girl would end up being the daughter of his new Chief of surgery. That was just his luck.

* * *

“Meredith, meet Dr Mark Sloan, our new head of Plastics,” Richard introduced her after the auditorium had started to clear. 

“It’s an honour to meet you, Dr Grey,” the dark-blonde haired doctor said as he gave her a firm handshake, “I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation.”

“Thank you, and likewise, Dr Sloan. I’ve read a few of your articles around face transplants, it’s definitely an interesting read and theory,” she said, grinning softly at him. 

“Where’d Dr Shepherd get to, Sloan?” Richard asked with a slight frown, “I'm sure I saw him sitting beside you earlier.”

“Oh, Derek, he was paged to the ER, not sure what for,” Mark said with a shrug, having released Meredith’s hand now, “he apologises for having to leave early.”

“I’m sure we’ll run into him, it’s no bother,” Richard said before turning back to Meredith, “Let’s get going.”

“Yeah, I’ll just grab my things,” she said with a smile before going to grab her bag, disconnecting the laptop and closing it, holding it against her. 

“Let me walk with you both,” Mark offered once Meredith was ready to go. 

“Sounds good. You can tell me more about this elusive Dr Shepherd, I know Richard used to teach him but that’s about the extent of what I know,” Meredith said, intrigued to know more about the man who had taken over as head of the neurosurgery department. 

“Well, I actually grew up with him, Dr Grey,” Mark said as the three of them walked out of the auditorium, “We’ve been friends since a very young age, his Mom basically adopted me.”

“That’s nice…” Meredith said, seeming a little off put by the personal talk as she frowned a little, “But what of his surgical talent? He’s good, yes?”

“Oh, right, yeah, he’s really good at what he does, but don’t let him know I said that I’d never hear the end of it,” Mark said with a slight chuckle. 

“Don’t fret so much, Meredith,” Richard said, “He’s good for the job, the one you didn’t want to take might I add, I wouldn’t have recommended him otherwise.”

“I know, I know,” she said with a roll of her eyes, having already been told this when she’d enquired about the new department head the week before when she’d been told by Ellis of his appointment. 

“Now, let’s drop your stuff off at Ellis’ office and put you to work for a few hours,” Richard suggested as they approached the office. 

“I thought you’d never offer,” she responded with a grin, eager to get her hands dirty and do some actual work today, something she only got to do once in a while when she visited Seattle Grace on account of scheduling conflicts that took precedent. 

“Looks like I’m needed in the ER as well,” Mark said, glancing down at his phone, “I’ll see you guys around.”

He flashed them a grin before heading back in the direction they had rushed off to get to the ER, but Meredith paid no mind to it. She went to Ellis’ office with Richard as they discussed her upcoming visit to Boston. She was flying out for later that day to assist them on an almost inoperable brain tumour tomorrow, for a patient who was unable to travel themselves and she intended to stay until Saturday evening to watch over recovery, pick up on a few consults at the Children’s hospital while she was in the area. It was going to be a busy week, and she looked forward to being back in her own bed on Saturday night if not earlier. After dropping off her bag in her Mom’s office, she made her way down to the ER with Richard, intent on meeting with Dr Shepherd. Just because she didn’t want to take the job herself, didn’t mean she didn’t care about the running of the neurosurgical department at her mother’s own hospital.


	3. Chapter 3

Derek was feeling slightly overwhelmed with the number of consults he'd been asked to attend to in the ER since he'd come down. He was starting to question the response times of his new colleagues, getting more irate by the second that even after having them paged multiple times no one seemed to show up. He was standing at the nurses' station, signing off a patient's chart ready for admission when Mark made an appearance in the chaotic room, making a beeline for Derek.

"Did you have me paged or was it someone else?" Mark asked, leaning against the nurses' station.

"That would be me, Sloan," April said from behind the desk, passing him over a chart, "Woman bed four with a face lack will only let the head of plastics touch her face."

"Ah, I see. Thanks, Kepner," Mark said as he took the chart from her, turning to Derek once more before heading off, "Oh, Shep, I was introduced to your mystery woods girl, I don't think she recognised you, but she's very interested in finding out more about the work of Dr Derek Shepherd, she's on her way down here with Webber."

"Thanks, Mark," Derek said with a defeated sigh, passing his chart back to the nurse after finishing with it, "Where next, Kepner?"

"Well it would've been trauma room three, but apparently someone is already in there," she said, looking over his shoulder at something else.

"You mean one of my attendings actually showed up?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, turning to follow her gaze.

"Not unless she's finally taken the job offer from Ellis, but then again, she'd probably be your boss in that case," April said with a short laugh, and Derek caught on to who she was talking about.

He could see through the window of the trauma room, Meredith was in there, her hair now tied back and a trauma gown protecting her clothes as she assessed the patient inside, seemingly taking control of the room as she did so. He was almost caught in that trance he seemed to get stuck in when she was around, but was quickly distracted by Richard Webber's approach.

"Dr Shepherd, there you are! I wanted to introduce you to Dr Grey," he said with a grin, having noticed what had caught Derek's gaze.

"Maybe we shouldn't interrupt her when she's working," Derek said with a slight chuckle, his gaze moving to Richard now so it didn't look like he was staring at his step-daughter.

"Nonsense, come with me," Richard said, starting to lead the way.

Derek followed with an internal groan, really not prepared to be introduced to her in this way. They entered the trauma room just as Meredith was doing her final examinations of the patient, and she glanced up at Richard, clearly not registering Derek's presence as she spoke.

"It's going to be surgery, Richard," she stated, her attention now back on the patient, "I assume my privileges are still in place?"

"Of course they are, Meredith," Richard assured her as she came away from the patient, pulling off her gloves and putting them in the bin before picking up the electronic chart to make her notes, "I've found Dr Shepherd to introduce you."

"Oh," she looked up properly now, her gaze flickering between Derek and Richard with a knowing smile, only a slight widening of her eyes indicating towards any hint of nervousness she might have as she recognised him stood in front of her.

"It's good to finally meet you, Dr Shepherd," she said, holding her hand out toward him.

"The pleasure is all mine, Dr Grey," he said as he took her hand, shaking it firmly with his, definitely holding her hand a little longer than necessary before she pulled hers back.

"Maybe Dr Shepherd could join you in surgery, Meredith?" Richard suggested, completely oblivious to both the minimal history and obvious energy between the two surgeons.

"Good idea, plenty of time to talk," Meredith said with a smile to Dr Webber, "Let Ellis know where I am when she gets out of surgery, won't you? She'll think I'm avoiding that conversation again."

"I will. You know where to get your scrubs and everything, yes?" Richard ensured with her.

"Yeah, I've got it," she said with a soft grin just as Richard's pager went off.

"I've got to get going, I'll see you both later on?" Richard asked, checking his pager.

"Yeah," they both said in unison, their eyes meeting a moment before Meredith turned to Richard, continuing, "I'll see you for dinner if not earlier."

* * *

She was freaking out inside. She was doing a good job of not showing it on the outside, but her insides were chaotic right now. Of course, the Adonis she had met in the woods, the perfect stranger with the perfect kiss, he would be the guy who got the job she'd turned down. The guy she was planning to chew out for not having anyone other than himself and a few incompetent residents in the ER when there were so many consults to be seen to.

She was grateful when she'd walked into the ER with Richard and Cristina had immediately called her over, almost thankful to see her so she could assess her patient.

"So," Derek piped up, but with nothing to actually say as they walked through the hallways together in the direction of the attendings' lounge.

"Where's the rest of your department?" She asked, glancing up at him.

"That's a really good question," he admitted, sheepishly, "apparently they don't respond well to new leadership."

"Leadership 101, Shepherd, let them know who is boss," she said, narrowing her eyes at him a moment before disappearing into the attendings' lounge he clearly hadn't realised they'd arrived at.

"Well, I wanted to see how the department already ran before I went about changing things," he admitted, having followed her into the room while she grabbed fresh scrubs and the pair of trainers she kept in there.

"You strike me as someone who has managed to get their own way through charm," she pointed out as she went into the adjoined bathroom to change, keeping the door open so he could hear her but staying out of his line of sight so he couldn't see her undressing, "That's going to get you nowhere when you join a department where everyone was gunning for your job, and then they hire the outsider."

"I hadn't realised they didn't want to promote from within," he said, and she appeared back into the main room having changed and put her clothes in a neat pile in Cristina's cubby.

"Did you think you were the only one they considered for the job?" She asked, frowning a little with one hand on her hip, her head tilted to the side.

"That's the way Richard made it sound," he said with a soft chuckle.

"Of course he did," she said with a roll of her eyes, "Ellis Grey 101; always have a backup option."

"Are you trying to say I was a backup option?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her as she grinned back at him. She was fully aware she was teasing him now.

"Possibly… but which backup option? The first, the second…" she continued grinning at him, heading toward the door now and he stood up to follow her.

"I feel like you're avoiding the subject of what happened yesterday," he said, having completely moved the topic of conversation off himself.

"By saying that, you're avoiding the subject of what I wanted to talk about," she said with a playful pout, finding herself backed up against the closed door by him.

"I was hoping I'd get to see you again," he said, his voice quieter the closer they stood together.

"Dr Shepherd, don't you think we should be getting to the OR? Rather than charming me, or springing more surprise kisses on me?" She asked, her eyes flickering between his lips and his eyes involuntarily.

"You look good in scrubs," he commented, stepping back a little as she turned to open the door, "I can't help it if I got a little distracted."

"Try not to get too distracted," she said as they walked down the hallway together, "I'd like the patient to pull through this surgery."

"Okay, I'll try not to distract you too much, then," he said, smirking at her, and she just shook her head with a soft laugh as they made it into the scrub room, prepping for the surgery.

"I'd appreciate that, Dr Shepherd."

"You can call me Derek, you know," he suggested as he scrubbed in beside her.

"And you can call me Dr Grey," she said with a grin before heading into the operating room, happy to have her favourite scrub nurse in there with her, Bokhee.

He followed in behind her, standing close beside where she took the place of lead surgeon, ready to begin. She glanced over at him a moment before looking up into the gallery, meeting the eyes of intrigued residents and that of Richard Webber who had also decided to observe.

"Is there not a resident you wish to be in the room with us today, to learn from up close, Dr Shepherd?" She commented, glancing back at him once more.

"Maybe it's best not to overcrowd, they can see from up there," he responded.

"I understand the sentiment, but if you felt such a way maybe you would've have given up your place in the room so that one of them could observe up close, I'm sure you've dealt with a subarachnoid haemorrhage before," she raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head a little, having never been too impressed with attendings who put their wants before the learning needs of their students. She held her hand out to Bokhee, focusing on the patient now, "Ten blade."

* * *

He hadn't spoken a word since the surgery had started, and she could only suppose he'd been put in his place by her words of criticism and had no rebuttal for her judgement. She gave instructions to the ICU nurse before going to scrub out herself, Derek having already gone ahead to do so. She pulled off her gloves, mask and gown before throwing them in the waste bin and scrubbing out herself.

"Why don't you just run the department yourself?" He said suddenly as he dried his hands off.

"Excuse me?" She turned to him with her eyebrows raised, and her arms crossed over her chest.

"You have a lot to say about how I should run my department, why don't you just run it instead?" He said, almost as though he was challenging her, when she hadn't for a moment thought she had been offending him.

"Woah, okay. Calm down," she said with a roll of her eyes, "I was merely suggesting the education of the residents in a _teaching hospital_ more important than you standing in that operating room to watch me."

"I doubt I would've been offered the job if there were any doubt as to my teaching skills, Dr Grey," he rebutted.

"Right, whatever, I have places to be," she said with a short laugh before leaving the room. Who did he seem to think he was? Absolutely rude, that's for sure. And to think he was making her weak in the knees not twenty-four hours earlier. Looks do not make up for a bad attitude.

* * *

"Ugh," she groaned softly as she collapsed on the couch in Cristina's office, the first place she'd thought to go after leaving the scrub room, "I'm a fool, Cristina."

"Why're you a fool this time, Grey?" The other woman asked, not even looking up from the laptop she was typing away at.

"I found my stranger from the woods," Meredith said, her arm falling across her face.

"Oh, the plot thickens," Cristina said, interested now as she looked up from the screen in front of her with her eyebrows raised.

"The plot ends, more like. Derek Shepherd," she muttered with distaste, still reeling from their short conversation.

"Not the new boy? The guy who started like a week ago doing the job Ellis wanted you to do?" Cristina said with a laugh, "Oh, Mer, only you could manage that."

"Yes, exactly the one," she complained, "and he's an absolute ass."

"Even I have to admit, he is pretty to look at, I understand the kiss in the middle of the woods now. Especially if it was raining," Cristina said, still laughing to herself as she continued typing away, "He does seem quite arrogant though, so it doesn't surprise me that he's rubbed you the wrong way."

"Well, now I have to go and convince my mother it's better for me _not_ to work here, especially if it ends up being under him," Meredith said, immediately regretting her choice of words.

"I bet you'd _love_ to work under him," Cristina said with a wag of her eyebrows and another laugh, "Hey, you've really cheered me up today."

"I'm glad one of us is amused," Meredith said, groaning as she climbed up off the couch again, "I need to change, and find my mother before I leave. I'll see you in a few days."

"Enjoy Boston," Cristina said, waving at her as she left the room.

"I'll do my best," Meredith responded with a roll of her eyes, closing the door behind her. She pulled her phone out of her pocket that had started ringing incessantly and quickly answered the call, talking on the phone as she walked to the attendings' lounge.

* * *

Derek sat with Mark in the attendings' lounge. He felt like crap for how he'd spoken to Meredith, but she definitely wasn't going to be greeting him with open arms any time soon, and probably not going to stick around for an apology from him.

"It was just so… _infuriating,"_ he said, running his hand through his hair.

"What? That she actually had a point?" Mark said with a chuckle, "Or the fact the only reason you have the job is because she turned it down?"

"What?" Derek asked, looking straight at Mark now, "She what?"

"You didn't know?" Mark laughed harder now, "I thought you knew!"

"I had no idea she turned the job down! Oh I'm such an idiot," he groaned, lowering his head into his hands.

"You finally find a decent girl and you ruin it in less than twenty-hour hours," Mark said, patting him on the back, "I know you're damaged after what Laura did, but come on."

Before he could respond, Derek's attention was drawn as he heard Meredith's voice, and he saw her enter the room on her phone speaking, well… not English. He tried to avoid her gaze, the only noise in the room being her on the phone. She grabbed her things and put them down on the table in the room before sitting down in one of the chairs. He saw her glance in his and Mark's direction a moment before she sighed, muttering something that sounded like annoyance before putting the phone on speaker to look at something that had come through on the screen.

He watched her a moment as she studied whatever it was on her phone, the tone of her voice indicating some form of debate happening on the call.

"Jacque!" She exclaimed the name of whoever she spoke to, " _Merde."_

She groaned softly before suddenly standing up again, and before Derek could even register it she sat on the coffee table in front of Derek and Mark, holding her phone out to him.

"Do me a favour, look at these scans. The second one is smaller than the first, no?" She asked, encouraging him to look at the scans, a hint of accent in her voice.

He took the phone, still in slight shock that she was even asking his opinion and quickly studied the two scans, noting their differences. He passed the phone back with a nod.

"The second definitely looks smaller than the first, definitely," he said, passing the phone back. She took the call off of the speakerphone, putting it back to her ear as she sat on the coffee table still.

"Tu vois, Jacque, la deuxième analyse montre une tumeur plus petite que dans la première, elle se rétrécit définitivement," she said into the phone, seemingly done with the debate and not taking any other opinion, "Oui, salut."

She groaned as she stood up again, putting her phone down on the table as she picked up her clothes, going into the adjoining room to change back into them.

"I'll see you in a bit," Mark said, patting Derek on the shoulder before leaving the room.

"Thanks for that," she said to him as she reappeared in the room, loosening her hair from the plaits she had put in earlier and putting her heeled boots back on.

"No problem, is everything okay?" He asked her, standing up himself now.

"Yeah, just arrogant Frenchmen hell bent on putting me on a flight to France that I really don't have time for right now," she responded, tapping away at her phone again.

"I wanted to apologise, for earlier," he started, feeling slightly nervous speaking to her, "You were only trying to help and I overreacted."

"Don't worry about it," she said with a shrug, locking her phone and putting it in her pocket as she looked up at him with a smile, "I've dealt with worse."

"I can imagine, but it was still wrong of me," he said, returning her smile, "Maybe I could take you out for a drink tonight, as a way of apology?"

"I can't, sorry," she said with a slight frown, "I'll be on a flight to Boston in a few hours and I'll be gone for the rest of the week."

"Oh, right okay, well safe trip then, maybe we'll see each other again when you're back," he said, his hands finding their way into his pockets.

"Yeah, maybe. See you around, Dr Shepherd," she said with a slight smirk before heading to the door.

"Please, just call me Derek," he insisted with a short laugh.

"Where's the fun in that?" She said with a raised eyebrow, flashing him another smirk before leaving the room.

He followed her out the room, but found himself just watching her walking away. Again. She infuriated him, but something about her, something about her just had him wanting to see her again.


	4. Chapter 4

Her plane had landed in the early hours of that morning, but she still managed to drag herself out of bed to follow her usual trail. Part of her felt nervous that she'd run into Derek, but she also figured it was probably a little over dramatic to think she'd see him again.

She walked along the familiar path, headphones in with her hands stuffed in her pockets. The days were definitely getting colder now, and it was likely to rain again today. She looked up as she approached the familiar oak tree she stopped to look at every time she walked past.

She sat down on a nearby tree stump, still feeling the tiredness from her flight as she yawned, covering her mouth. She pulled her phone out, a message there from her Mom asking about dinner. She ignored it for now and instead started scrolling through the music on her phone.

Eventually deciding to set it to shuffle, she looked up again, only to half-jump out of her skin when she saw Derek standing there, leaning against a nearby tree and watching her. She took her headphones out and raised an eyebrow at him.

"What the hell?" She asked, still a little breathless from the scare.

"You spook easily," he said, his head tilting to the side with a soft chuckle as she stood up off the tree stump, "When did you get back to town?"

"Very early this morning," she said, not even sure really why she felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest.

"Would it be weird if I missed you?" He asked, approaching her.

"Yes, you barely even know me," she said with a soft laugh, shaking her head, "and I didn't even think you liked me that much."

She hadn't tied her hair up today and the motion caused her loose waves to be picked up by the wind, catching across her face. Before she could protest, Derek was standing in front of her, tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ears and out of her face, and she found herself looking up into his eyes. His hand cupped her cheek, and the familiar weakness in her knees returned and she found herself gently biting her lower lip.

"That's the exact opposite of how I feel," he said with a slight murmur.

"So, you like being told what to do?" She gave him a slight smirk, her hand reaching to his forearm with a gentle touch.

"Maybe not if it's you," he smirked back at her.

"This is a bad idea," she murmured softly, watching the flickering of his gaze between her lips and her eyes, gently pulling his arm down so that his hand dropped from her face.

"How so?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, his hand moving to her waist, pulling her slightly toward him, catching her off guard a moment.

"Because it just is," she said with a sigh, stepping back from him.

"Can I at least take you for that apology drink?" He asked, watching her closely.

"You're getting persistent," she observed, narrowing her eyes a little.

"I don't think you realise the effect you have on me," he said, stepping towards her as she took another step back.

"Maybe I don't, but this is still a bad idea, regardless," she said, not even believing her own words as she felt an invisible pull toward him, the urge to get her fingers tangled in his hair.

"Your eyes are telling me a different story," he said quietly.

"Vivre d'amour et d'eau fraîche," she muttered softly as his hand cupped her cheek again, slowly backing her up against the oak tree, "My eyes betray me, and they will disappoint you, I will disappoint you."

"I don't think you will," he said, his lips so close to hers he could feel his soft breath against her skin, and it was taking everything in her power to not give in.

"I disappoint a lot of people," she said quietly, finding herself running her fingers through the curls of his hair.

"I'm only asking for a kiss, maybe a date, not a lifelong commitment," he said, gently brushing his nose against hers, clearly waiting for her to make the first move.

"Isn't that what everybody wants in the end?"

"You're overthinking it."

In a split second, her defences dropped and she found herself pressing her lips forward against his, receiving his immediate response. As their lips moved in soft kisses, his grip on her waist tightened slightly as he pushed her back more firmly against the tree, his body lightly pressed on hers. She responded almost immediately, tangling her fingers into his hair and pushing her body up against his. Their lips moved together in hot kisses, as though it was something they did everyday, as though they knew each others' bodies already. His teeth gently nipped at her lower lip, enticing a soft moan from within her, and she could feel her arousal growing deep within her abdomen. She needed him. She wanted him.

His hand slid up the back of her jacket, pressing against the bare skin of her lower back, holding her against him as their kisses deepened. His lips moved along her jawline as her head tilted back a little, and she felt a few drops of rainfall on her face through the leaves, a soft laugh escaping her parted lips.

"It's raining," she murmured, tightening her grip in his hair a little as he nipped against her neck and she moaned out ever so slightly again.

"Come here," he said in a quiet voice.

His hand sliding into hers as he gently pulled her off the tree and into a small clearing where the rain was coming down heavier. She looked at him with an amused grin and a raised eyebrow as the rain soaked them and he laughed softly, his arms around her waist as he held her against him.

"I thought you liked the rain."

"Hm, I do," she mused, her eyes taking in the way he looked in the rain, water drops covering his face and glinting off the faint afternoon sun.

Her lips found his again, tasting the rain on his skin as he held her closer against him. She pressed herself against him, her fingers tangled in his wet hair as she felt the heat inside her ignited again, but right now was the least opportune time for either of them to go any further. Just as she was about to suggest a change of scenery, her phone started ringing and she pulled back with a slight groan of annoyance to answer it.

"Hello?" She said as she put her headphones in to answer it, having not checked the caller ID.

"Meredith, you didn't message back. Dinner is in two hours, are you joining us? Are you back in Seattle?" Her mother's voice sounded on the other end of the phone as she moved under the shelter of the trees again.

"Yes, I'm back in Seattle, and yeah I'll be round for dinner," she responded quickly.

Derek came up close behind her, his lips pressing against the back of her neck as he slid an arm around her waist and playing with the zip of her jacket.

"Good, we'll see you in two hours then, we can discuss further the plans for the next two weeks," her mother said, clearly not sensing any urgency in Meredith's voice.

"Okay, Mom, I'll speak to you soon," she said, rushing to end the call as Derek's hand gripped her waist, holding her back against him as he nipped at the skin on her slightly exposed collarbone.

"Speak soon, and don't forget the paperwork and your laptop okay?"

Derek's free hand slid up the front of her jacket and top, his touch against the skin of her bare abdomen. His touch had her breath catching in the back of her throat.

"I won't, bye," she said, quickly hanging up the call before turning her head to look back at Derek, who had started to tease against the waistband of her yoga pants, "What are you doing?"

"Enjoying you before you run away from me again," he murmured against her skin, kissing at her neck again.

"As much as I… not here," she muttered, stepping away from him as she put her phone back away in her pocket, "and I have to go."

"Do you have to? Can I give you a ride home?" He asked, watching her as she tied her shoelace that had come loose.

"My car is just down the hill, it's okay," she explained, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" He asked, tilting his head to the side a little in confusion.

"At the hospital? Where you work?" She said with a soft laugh, ready to put her headphones back in for the walk back to the car.

"You have a case in the hospital tomorrow?" He asked, seemingly intrigued.

"Hm, something like that," she said, a soft grin on her face for what was to come.

"Give me a hint," he pleaded, stepping toward her, "Surely I'd know if you were coming in to do surgery in my own department."

"I can't say. You'll find out tomorrow," she said with a soft laugh.

He stepped forward again, cupping her cheek as he pressed his lips to hers again in a final kiss. She let herself kiss him back a moment before stepping back again, needing to not get lost in him again right now.

"You're infuriating. Beautiful, hot… and infuriating," he said.

"You might become a problem," she murmured, watching the way desire flickered in his eyes as he spoke.

"I… Do you have to leave right now?" He asked, his hand running through his hair.

"Why?" She tilted her head to the side a little.

"I want more time with you."

"I can't imagine why."

"Can't you?" He said as he stepped a little closer to her.

"I shouldn't have let this get as far as it already has," she breathed, pressing her lips together.

"You're acting like this is a matter of life and death," he chuckled.

"My mom is your boss," she pointed out.

"Would that stop us from having fun with each other?"

"It probably should."

"Can I at least walk you to your car?"

His fingers gently brushed against hers as he reached forward and she watched their movement. She released a soft sigh as she let their fingers join together and looked back up at him.

"Come on then," she said with a slight shake of her head as he grinned at her.

"Lead the way, Meredith Grey."

She shook her head a little at his amused grin, but kept their fingers interlocked as she led him back down the path she had taken up there originally. They were quiet for a few moments before Derek started talking.

"You really can't tell me about tomorrow?"

"I really can't," she laughed softly, "it's top secret and you have to admit, it's more interesting this way."

"I do like the mystery."

"It was… good to see you again here," she breathed, "but that is my car there."

"That was a lot quicker than I thought it would be," he admitted.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, Dr Shepherd," she grinned at him as they stood beside her car.

"You can at least call me Derek outside the hospital," he rolled his eyes.

"I'll think about it," she shrugged.

"Maybe when I take you out for that drink," he murmured as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Depends if I let you take me for a drink," she smirked.

He simply shook his head and before she knew it, his lips were against hers again and she couldn't help but respond to the soft touch, his hand gently on her hip as her arm rested over his shoulder. As their lips parted against one another, he pressed her gently against her car, and if she wasn't running late to get to dinner with her mother, she'd probably let him take her back to his. Or take him back to hers. She really would've. But she couldn't.

"I have to go," she managed to murmur between kisses.

He groaned softly as he pulled his lips back, his eyes caught on hers a moment as their forehead touched a second before he pulled back. She climbed into her car, his hand holding the door open.

"We'll talk more about that drink tomorrow."

"I'm sure you'll talk about it, I'm not making any promises though."

She could see the glint of amusement in his eyes even as he rolled them at her and he stepped back so she could close the door. She laughed softly with a slight shake of her head before driving away, and she didn't need to check her rear view mirror to know he was watching her drive away.


	5. Chapter 5

He hadn’t seen her yet. Granted, it was only half eight in the morning, but he hadn’t seen her yet. He was on his way to the main conference room, where the presence of all department heads was required for the morning briefing when he caught up with Sloan. 

“Any idea what’s so important about this meeting?” Mark asked him as they walked along. 

“I haven’t got a clue,” Derek admitted, sitting down in one of the chairs beside Mark. 

“What, still haven’t seen your girlfriend?” Mark teased him with a chuckle. 

“She’s not my girlfriend, Mark,” he glared over at his friend as his phone went off and he quickly checked it, seeing a missed call that could wait. 

“Have you heard from Laura?”

Before Derek could respond, Ellis and Richard entered the room along with Meredith, whose appearance took his breath away. Her hair was down, resting on her shoulder in soft waves and she wore a tight black dress under her lab coat that came halfway down her thigh. It was professional but at the same time he could definitely imagine ripping it off her. Her eyes caught his a moment, and if she spoke she’d probably be scolding him for staring. He tried to divert his gaze to pay attention to Ellis as she began to speak, but his gaze kept flickering back to Meredith. 

“Good morning everyone. We’ll keep this as brief as possible, we know you’re all very busy,” Ellis began, none the wiser to the looks being shared between Derek and Meredith, “as some of you may be aware, for the past year Dr Webber and myself have been working to set up a foundation. The Grey Foundation, and today that foundation begins.”

She paused as the group in the room applauded, Derek catching Meredith’s eye with a raised eyebrow as he joined in with the applause and she gave him a discreet shake of her head, only confusing him further. 

“Today, Dr Webber and I will be flying out to New York to begin a two week venture jam packed with business meetings, looking to recruit more hospitals into the foundation,” she continued, “and as a result, I have asked my daughter, Dr Meredith Grey to stand in as Chief of Surgery for at least the next two weeks, as well as keeping an eye over the residency programme on Dr Webber’s behalf.”

“I look forward to working with you all,” Meredith said with a smile to everyone in the room. 

Derek leant back in his chair, interested to see that no one in the room seemed to oppose the decision. The meeting came to a close pretty quickly soon after that and he thought about catching up with Meredith before realising that was probably a bad idea right now. 

“And now she’s your boss,” Mark said, clapping him on the back with a chuckle, “your chances seem to be getting slimmer and slimmer.”

“Oh, get off it, Mark,” he said with a roll of his eyes as they left the room. He couldn’t deny that this was probably quite the obstacle to convincing her to go out with him, but she wouldn’t be his boss forever. 

* * *

“Right, we’re off. I leave the hospital in your capable hands, Meredith. Call me if you need anything,” Ellis said to her as they bid their goodbyes.

“I will, I promise, good luck and try to relax some,” Meredith said with a soft laugh.

“We’ll be back in two weeks,” Ellis said, pressing a kiss to Meredith’s cheek, and Richard waved goodbye before they left the office. 

Meredith let out a breath she hadn’t even realised she’d been holding as she sat in the chair behind the desk. This was not what she had been expecting when her mother asked her to talk a week ago. One minute Meredith was turning down being the head of neurosurgery, the next she was acting chief for the next two weeks. 

A knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts, looking up to see Derek stood in the doorway. She sighed softly and beckoned for him to come in. 

“Close the door behind you,” she said with a raised eyebrow, “What can I do for you?”

“So, is this what you couldn’t tell me yesterday?” He asked with a soft chuckle, leaning with one hand against the back of the chair opposite her desk. 

“This is absolutely what I couldn’t tell you yesterday,” she said with a soft laugh, standing up and walking around the desk, her arms crossed over her chest, “this is why it’s a bad idea for you to get involved with me, in any capacity, or well, one of the reasons.”

“Maybe you should give me the other reasons, and I’ll decide whether it’s a bad idea or not,” he suggested, raising an eyebrow at her, “you make it sound like you have secrets to hide, Dr Grey.”

“Everyone has secrets to hide, Dr Shepherd,” she said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, “shouldn’t you be getting to work?”

“I still owe you a drink, Dr Grey. Maybe we can discuss this further then,” he suggested, moving to stand closer to her. 

“I’ll think about it,” she murmured softly, feeling her breath catch a moment as he stood closer to her. 

“You look good in that dress, by the way, definitely a good choice,” he said in a quiet voice, standing in front of her now with his lips close to her ear, almost touching her neck, his hand pressed forward against the desk beside her.

“Watch yourself, Dr Shepherd,” she warned in a quiet voice. 

“You’re different here, not a bad different, but different.”

“We’re in a professional environment, Dr Shepherd, and I’m your boss for the foreseeable future. This isn’t appropriate.”

“Isn’t this just a temporary thing? You’ll only be my boss for a couple of weeks. Makes this whole thing more exciting.”

“You like to live dangerously?” She raised an eyebrow, amused. 

“I would for you.”

“You don’t even know me,” she scoffed. 

“I’d like to.”

His fingertips brushed along her jawline and she fought the urge to catch his lips with her own, to throw all sense and logic out the window. Her hand gently brushed over his upper arm a moment, before she pushed herself forward, her body pressing against his for a split second before she moved away from him. 

“You’re killing me here, Dr Grey,” he said, running his fingers through his hair with a soft chuckle as she walked over to the window. 

“Maybe a cold shower will help your troubles?” She said, turning to face him with a smirk, “Now, you have a department to run and I have meetings to get to.”

“I guess I’ll just have to try again later on,” he said, turning to leave the room but pausing at the door and turning back to her again, “Come and find me if you change your mind.”

She laughed softly and shook her head, going to sit in the chair at the desk again and opening up her laptop as he left the room. She opened up her schedule for the day, sighing softly at the amount of things on her to do list. She was going to be turning down a lot of consults over the next two weeks and her travel would have to come to a stop. She wondered why she’d even agreed to do this in the first place. 

* * *

“Are you going to do anything about that?” 

The voice of her best friend pulled her out of her thoughts and she looked to see Cristina raising an eyebrow at her. 

“Anything about what?”

“McDreamy over there, staring at you,” she snorted. 

“McDreamy?” 

“You know, the hair, the look, the leaning against surfaces,” Cristina listed before gesturing toward Derek who sat a couple tables over with Dr Sloan. 

“Cris! You can’t just…” Meredith shook her head. 

“Well are you?”

“What do you expect I do?”

“I mean… you could just have sex with him, get it out of both of your systems and you’ll be fine,” she shrugged. 

“I can’t… Cristina I can’t sleep with him.”

“Why not? It’s not like you’re going to be Chief forever.”

“It sure feels like it,” she murmured as she ran her fingers through her hair, “Ellis has already emailed to say they might be extending their leave by two more weeks.”

“You’re not going to leave Seattle for four weeks? You’re gonna lose it by the time your mom comes back,” Cristina laughed. 

“Tell me about it,” she huffed, finishing off her sandwich. 

“Maybe you’ll feel better if you get laid.”

“He does keep pestering me to go for a drink with him,” she muttered. 

“Think about it,” Cristina shrugged as her pager went off, “I gotta go. Catch up with you later.”

Meredith sighed softly as she watched her friend leave the cafeteria, her gaze drifting over to where Derek sat. There was no harm in having a little fun. She just couldn’t get attached, keep her personal life separate from her professional life and it would all be okay. Hopefully. She groaned softly as her phone reminded her it was time for an upcoming meeting and she stood, clearing the table. As she walked across the room, she could just feel his eyes on her and she avoided looking back. She couldn’t. Not here. 

Just as she approached her temporary office, she felt a hand against her lower back urging her inside and she jumped slightly. She wasn’t even surprised to see Derek had caught up with her and they were now face to face against the back of the door, her eyes locked on his. 

“What are you doing?” She breathed. 

“Trying again,” he murmured. 

He angled his lips towards hers slowly, as though asking for her permission. Her mind was shouting at her to push him away, but it shocked her to realise her fingers were tangling themselves into his hair, her body arching toward his. 

“I have a meeting.”

“Let me take you for a drink,” he whispered, his lips now close to her ear. 

“I…” she began to protest. 

“Forget the job. Forget the hospital, and the expectations and the titles. Just you and me in a bar, enjoying a few drinks. That’s all.”

His lips made contact with the soft skin of her neck, just beneath her jawline and her mind went blank. She couldn’t think of an argument. She didn’t want to argue. What she really wanted… she couldn’t have right now. 

“Saturday,” she gasped softly. 

She felt his grin against her skin before he pulled back a little to look at her, her fingers gripping his hair a little tighter. Her gaze was focused on his lips and before she realised what was happening, her body pressed toward his and their lips connected. His hand gripped at her waist and held her against him as their lips moved together in needy kisses, both clearly desperate for more. They probably would’ve gotten more as well, if Meredith’s phone hadn’t started ringing, causing them to break apart. 

“I… meeting. I need to take this,” she murmured. 

Her heart was still racing and she felt slightly breathless as she pulled the phone out to answer it. As she spoke on the phone, she watched the expression on Derek’s face as she spoke in Spanish, the mixture of being amused and impressed. She continued with the call, trying to focus on what was being said but unable to break her gaze from watching Derek as he walked over to her desk, scribbling something down on her notepad before he straightened up again. 

He smirked a little at her as he realised she was still watching him and he moved toward her quietly, reaching for her free hand and giving it a gentle squeeze before heading back out of the office, giving her one last glance before he left. She took a deep breath as she felt her heart pounding in her chest and she moved to sit down at the desk, her eyes glancing over his note. 

_Saturday, 8pm. I’ll pick you up. I’ll leave you alone till then, but feel free to find me if you wish._

She bit her lip gently as she reread the note over and over, not quite listening to what was being said over the phone. She knew this was a bad idea, but deep down in her stomach, she was actually excited for the prospect of going out with him on Saturday night. 

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

It was finally Saturday, the last day of what had been a very long week and the morning was appearing to be as gloomy as she felt. She took her coffee with a thanks to the barista before making the journey through the hospital to her office. The whole week had been filled with meetings, and she was missing the rush of the OR. She had some free time today, considering the board didn’t work on Saturdays, and she half hoped to be able to scrub in on something, anything. 

Ellis and Richard’s surgeries had already been taken over by the general surgery team, so she couldn’t take one of those. It would probably end up being a case of trolling the ER for cases. She hadn’t spoken to Derek since he had been in her office on Monday, and stealing a case from under his nose felt like a good way to end the week. 

She quickly loaded up her laptop, checking through her emails and sending out a few replies before closing it again. She used the adjoining bathroom to change into a pair of indigo scrubs, fastening her hair into plaits against her head. She put her trainers on and felt a sense of relief to finally be out of heels for the first time all week. 

“Oh, Dr Grey!” She was greeted by the voice of April Kepner as she entered the OR, “I’m so glad to see you.”

“How can I help, Kepner?” Meredith asked, raising an eyebrow as she met her by the admissions desk. 

“I was waiting for Dr Shepherd, but I think he’s caught up in a surgery, can I borrow you for a neuro consult?” Kepner asked, bringing up patient details on the tablet she held and passing it over to Meredith. 

“Sure, which room?” Meredith asked as she read over the information already in the chart, taking it all in and memorising it. 

“Room 3, Wilson is already in there with the patient,” April said as Meredith’s eyes flickered over the age of the patient. Seven. She took a breath before looking up at Kepner. 

“I’ll go in there now,” she told her and April nodded, turning to the computer to presumably update the case. 

She entered the room and immediately zoned in on the patient, setting the tablet down before pulling on gloves and sitting in a stool beside the young girl who sat with white gauze pressed against the back of her head by Dr Wilson, a fourth year resident. 

“Good morning, Emma is it?” Meredith asked, addressing the girl directly with a warm smile, who nodded with a slight sniffle, appearing as though she had just managed to stop crying. 

“My name is Meredith, Emma, and I just want to have a little look at your head and make sure everything is working properly, is that okay?” She asked. 

The girl nodded again, having not yet spoken, and Meredith gestured for the resident to pull the gauze away so that the injury could be inspected more closely. Tenderly, she inspected the area, her fingers ever so slight against the girl’s scalp, hearing an audible whimper from the girl and immediately pulling her hands away. She sat back down in the stool, eye level with her again. 

“Who’s here with you today, Emma?” Meredith asked, her gaze flickering up at Wilson a moment. 

“‘Manda, my babysitter,” the young girl muttered softly.

“And where is she?” She asked, looking up at Wilson for the answer this time. 

“Oh, she is in the waiting area,” the resident said with a slight frown, “she went to call the parents.”

“Shall we bring Amanda back in here, Emma? Is that okay?” Meredith asked the girl now, wanting to be able to get more of a history about the girl. 

Emma nodded and Meredith looked to Wilson, who seemed to just realise she’d meant for her to go and get the babysitter and left the room. 

“How did this happen then, Emma?” Meredith asked as she continued her examination of the girl. 

“My head hurt, and I couldn’t see and then my head really hurt because I fell over,” Emma told her, her eyes starting to tear up again. 

“You’re being really brave for me Emma,” Meredith assured the young girl, “When Amanda gets here I’m going to go get a few things to help with your head but then I’ll be right back okay?”

Emma nodded just as Dr Wilson returned with who she supposed to be Amanda who announced that Emma’s parents would arrive soon. Meredith slipped out of the room after instructing the resident to stay with them, taking the electronic chart with her to update the notes. 

She picked up a suture kit, lost in her own thoughts as she thought about what Emma had said and the symptoms she had witnessed just being in the room with her. They were definitely going to need to get her an CT scan.

* * *

There had still been no sign of Derek in the ER when Meredith had returned from taking the young girl for an CT scan, having promised to stay beside the girl since her parents couldn’t go in the room. She now left Emma in their care in one of the rooms on the paediatric ward while she went to seek out the scan results and blood test results. 

She was still lost in her own thoughts when Yang approached her, almost startling her out of her skin. 

“You’re being jumpy,” Cristina said, narrowing her eyes at Meredith. 

“Yeah, I just have a patient I need to get results for,” Meredith said with a slight frown. 

“Oh you have a patient?” Cristina asked, “is this your first patient whilst being acting chief?”

“Yeah, seven year old girl, suspected brain tumour that’s probably pressing the optic nerve,” Meredith explained as they walked in the direction of the lab for the results she needed. 

“Are you okay?” Cristina asked, genuinely concerned now. 

“Cris, I’m fine, I’ve got it,” Meredith assured her as she got the results from the lab, simultaneously receiving a notification to her phone, pulling it out to see the scan was ready for her. 

“Okay, if you say so. Page if you need me,” she said, her hand resting on Meredith’s shoulder a moment before she walked away. 

* * *

Meredith found herself back in the ER after viewing the scans, ready to speak to Emma’s parents about the results but she was intercepted by Derek before she could leave the ER to go up to the paeds floor. 

“Dr Grey?” He asked, about to reach for her arm but thinking otherwise when she all but glared at his outstretched hand. 

“What do you need Dr Shepherd?” She asked, one hand on her hip, “I have places to be.”

“Kepner said you took my consultation,” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Your point?” She asked, her arms crossing over her chest. 

“I mean, I can continue on the case if you’re busy,” he said, seeming to catch on to her not so pleasant mood toward him now. 

“Dr Shepherd, when it takes you or anyone from your team over two hours to see a child with a head injury it doesn’t look good. I may have stepped on your toes two weeks ago when I told you to sort your department out, but now it’s my job,” she told him, standing up straighter now, “if you’re having problems with that, I need to know.”

“Right, Dr Grey, sorry,” he said, realising she wasn’t even close to teasing him about this right now. 

“I won’t have enough time to pick up the slack and I won’t always be here to do it either,” she said to him, “there needs to be improvements by the end of the next week before Dr Grey returns.”

She carried on to the paediatric ward, evidently ending the conversation with Derek. She had more pressing matters to deal with. She needed to speak to the girls’ parents and get a surgery scheduled for her as soon as possible. 

* * *

After a long conversation with Emma’s parents and scheduling a surgery for her to respect the damn near impossible tumour, Meredith headed straight for her temporary office, just about ready to head home. She was beyond done with today. She opened the door to her office, stepping inside and turning to close the door only to be stopped by Dr Shepherd who just seemed to appear from nowhere. 

“I’m getting you a bell to wear permanently,” she frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Can we talk?”

“Yeah, sure,” she sighed. 

She turned back into the office, sitting in the desk chair as he closed the door behind him, sitting in a chair opposite. 

“I wanted to apologise, for what happened today,” he said, “explain it.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. I had Nelson assigned to ER today and it seems he doesn’t understand that it wasn’t an option… which I’ve already spoken to him about and as soon as I realised he hadn’t responded to the page for the ER, well that’s when you saw me. I’m not excusing any of it and I’m going to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“I understand you were in surgery but it’s important that inside and outside of the OR, your team knows who is supposed to be where and when. And it isn’t up to you to do everything,” she said, opening up the laptop in front of her as she spoke, “You’ve already emailed that over to me about Nelson?”

“Yeah, I’ve sent it through for you to sign off on,” he nodded. 

“Good. I… today it’s good that I was there and the wound itself wasn’t a pressing issue. But it won’t always be like that, which I’m sure you’re aware of.”

“I am, and I’ve already been thinking of ways to avoid this in the future. There’s a few residents I believe will be declaring neuro over the next few weeks so I can look at adding them into rotation, I’ve also emailed through to you…”

“A request to add a fellow position to the department?” She raised an eyebrow, opening up the email he’d sent to her.

“Yes, there’s definitely room in the budget and if I can get the right person in… I have a feeling one or two of the current attendings’ roles are at risk if they don’t change their behaviour quickly.”

“Forward thinking, okay,” she nodded, reading over his proposal, “I’ll run it past the board and speak to Richard… Dr Webber, over the next week and get back to you.”

“Is there anything else we need to discuss?”

“Not right now, unless there’s anything else you have? It’s getting late.”

“Nothing that can’t wait,” he shook his head a little, and she noticed the look in his eyes change. 

“Okay, I’ll see you on Monday then, Dr Shepherd,” she said with a small smile before standing up, closing her laptop and starting to pack up her things. 

“Dr Grey…”

His voice was a lot closer now and when she looked up he was standing beside her, his hand reaching out to touch her forearm.

“Bells, I’m getting you bells,” she murmured. 

“I was hoping we would still be going for that drink tonight,” he breathed. 

His fingers trailed over her skin as he took her hand in his, and she looked up into his eyes. 

“Oh, shit.”

“You forgot?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“I… maybe,” she chewed her bottom lip. 

“Oh, I mean, if you have other plans…” he started. 

“I don’t, I was just going to go home, I could, we could,” she felt herself stammering a little as she spoke.

“I’ll pick you up at 8, then? Or maybe a little later?”

“I think… nine would be good. Yeah, nine is better.”

“And where am I picking you up from?” He chuckled softly, leaning toward her a little more. 

“Oh, yeah,” she grabbed a pen and scribbled her address on a post it note before handing it to him, “here, my address, and there’s a bar just down the street, we can go there.”

“Sounds good, I’ll see you at nine then,” he murmured, sliding the post-it into his pocket. 

A soft gasp escaped her lips as he leant forward and pressed his lips to hers, his arm sliding around her waist and gently pulling her closer. Her lips responded automatically to his, her hand resting at his neck for the duration of the kiss. 

“There’ll be more of that later,” he breathed softly as their lips parted. 

She felt a slight warmth of a blush on her cheeks as her teeth caught her lower lip, watching him walk back out of the office. She was totally done for. 


	7. Chapter 7

The minute she got home she was in the shower. She couldn’t help but feel excited about this, but she knew she had to manage her expectations. It was just a date, one date. It couldn’t be more than that. She pulled a towel around herself, her hair in a messy bun on top of her head as she moved back into her bedroom, standing in front of the full length mirror. She couldn’t shut up the voice in her head telling her this was a bad idea. Getting attached was a bad idea.

She groaned softly, throwing the towel into the laundry basket before pulling on the simple lace bra and panties she had ready and looked through the dresses hanging in her closet. They all seemed far too formal to just go for a drink in, but she should probably try to make an effort past jeans and a t-shirt. Her eyes caught sight of a bag at the bottom of the closet and she picked it up, biting her lip as she set the bag on the bed and pulled the dress out it. She’d bought it months ago and hadn’t yet had the opportunity to wear it. She didn’t even know why she had bought it, she never thought she’d be in a situation to wear it, but she liked it. It was a bit short, but it was exactly what she was looking for. She lay the dress out on the bed, going to finish her hair and to apply the bare minimum of make up before getting dressed. She didn’t even know why she was putting so much effort into this. It was just drinks.

She’d just slipped her heels on when her phone buzzed on the side table, Derek messaging her to let her know he had arrived. She found herself subconsciously biting her lip as she read the message, taking a deep breath as she grabbed her keys, putting them in her bag with her phone. She ran her fingers through her hair one more time, checking herself in the mirror before leaving the apartment and heading down to the main lobby.

She looked up as the elevator doors opened to see Derek just outside the glass front entrance and her breath caught slightly. She’d seen him in his walking gear, and she’d seen him in his scrubs, but there was something different about seeing him in jeans, a shirt and blazer. He hadn’t seen her yet, so she stopped a moment to admire him, thinking about the way he’d most likely spent a lot of time on his hair to perfect it, and he looked gorgeous. If she were someone with less self-control, she’d probably forgo the drinks and take him back upstairs with her. She took a deep breath and steadied herself a moment before heading out the door, her eyes on him as he turned at her movement to look at her.

“You… Hey,” he breathed as their eyes met.

“Hey,” she smiled slightly, biting her lip again.

“You look…” he shook his head a little with a slight grin, stepping toward her. 

“You don’t clean up too badly yourself,” she said softly, her fingers fiddling with the watch she wore. 

“That dress is just… perfect,” he breathed, his hand reaching for hers. 

“Oh, thanks,” she smiled a little, feeling the slight heat on her cheeks as she let him take her hand in his.

“Where to?” He asked, gently squeezing her hand. 

“It’s just down the street, across the road,” she gestured a little with her free hand as she stepped closer to him. 

“Let’s get going then,” he dropped her hand to place his own at the small of her back as they walked to the bar, neither speaking just yet as they walked the short distance down the street. 

Inside, they stood by the bar, his hand still resting at the small of her back and she leaned into him slightly as they waited for the bartender to approach. Derek’s lips lowered to her ear as he gently pushed her hair behind her ear. 

“What’s your drink?” He spoke quietly, but close to her ear so she could hear him over the noise of the busy bar. 

“Tequila,” she said with a smile up at him, gently biting her lip. 

“Hmm, okay,” he nodded, pressing his lips together a moment, his fingers gently pressing against the bare skin of her back, sending a chill through her spine. 

“What?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at his reaction, trying to ignore her desire for his fingers to be touching elsewhere on her body right now. 

“Just… they say things about girls who drink tequila,” he said with a slight smirk before grabbing the attention of the bartender, ordering her drink as well as his own single malt scotch whiskey. 

“Yeah?” She murmured, moving a little closer to speak by his ear, “Your drink says a lot about you too. Boring, missionary…”

“Now that definitely isn’t true,” he growled slightly, holding her more firmly against him and pressing his lips against her neck a moment.

The slight nip of his teeth against her skin had her gasping softly, a rush of warmth travelling down her spine as she pressed her thighs together slightly, her hand gripping on to the edge of the bar. Her other hand slid under his suit jacket around to his back, adding a slight pressure to her touch as he kissed her neck one more time before moving his lips close to her ear again. 

“Let’s go sit down,” he murmured, dropping his arm from around to pick up both of their drinks from the bartender. 

“Yeah,” she muttered, gathering herself a moment before following him to a booth, secluded in the back corner of the bar. 

She slid into the booth beside him rather than sitting across from him, noting a slightly darkened look in his eyes. She picked up her drink, taking a sip of the tequila sunrise as his arm slid around her waist again. 

“So, other than the fact you’re an insanely talented surgeon, which the whole world knows, and that you go for walks in the woods and kiss strangers,” he chuckled slightly as she glared at him and took a sip of his drink, “I don’t know all that much about you, Meredith Grey.”

“What more do you need to know?” She said, her face changing into a soft grin, her hand moving over his upper thigh. 

“Things you like, things you hate, your deep, dark secrets,” he teased, his fingers caressing over the bare skin of her back again. 

“We don’t need to…” she murmured, feeling a shiver run down her spine again, but for different reasons this time, “We don’t need to do the thing.”

“The thing?” He chuckled, taking a sip of his drink and apparently unaware of her discomfort of the topic of conversation. 

“Yes, the thing, getting to know each other, talking about our deep, dark secrets,” she murmured, her fingers moving along his inner thigh in hopes to distract him. 

“Isn’t that what people do on dates?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, but she knew she had distracted him some, her fingers travelling further up his inner thigh. 

“This isn’t… oh,” she frowned slightly, pulling her hand back into her own lap as she took a long sip of her drink, “I don’t do dates, Dr Shepherd.”

“Oh no, this isn’t date by my standards,” his hand pressed against her back a little firmer, pulling her close to him, “I just wanted to see you outside of the hospital, Dr Grey.”

“So, you don’t want to date me?” She asked, looking up at him with her brow slightly furrowed, confused. 

“I never said that,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead and cupping his hand under her jaw, his fingers tangling in her hair, “I just know that’s not what you want right now. And I’m not… quite ready.”

“Then what are we doing?” She breathed softly as his forehead lowered to touch hers. 

“We’re having fun,” he whispered before capturing her lips with a soft kiss. 

Her eyes closed as their lips met and she returned the gesture, her hand moving back to his inner thigh as she heard his words. Fun. She could have fun. She wanted to have fun. It didn’t need to be anything serious. There didn’t need to be labels, or dating, or getting to know one another. Their lips separated after a few short kisses, and she opened her eyes to meet his. 

“I’m not against having some fun,” she smirked slightly as she squeezed her hand against his thigh before finishing off her drink, “I should definitely drink more tequila, though.”

“So, you’re more fun with tequila?” He smirked back at her, his hand sliding to her hip with a gentle squeeze, his arm still around her. 

“Lots of fun… tequila makes me porny,” she moved her lips to whisper softly close to his ear. 

“Let’s get you some more tequila then,” he grinned and looked up, catching the attention of one of the bar staff and ordering them some more drinks. 

“Maybe you should drink tequila too, prove to me you’re not as boring as your drink suggests,” she suggested with a small shrug, her fingers rubbing against his inner thigh. 

“Oh no, tequila doesn’t agree with me at all. I can prove that to you in other ways,” he murmured, his fingers fidgeting with the short hem of her dress. 

“Getting brave, Dr Shepherd?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“Everytime you call me Dr Shepherd,” he murmured, his lips moving close to her ear again, “it turns me on even more.”

“Good,” she grinned softly, pressing a kiss to his cheek before turning to thank the member of bar staff who had brought more drinks over for them. 

“Not when you’re trying to tell me off at work and I get hard,” he chuckled, his fingers sliding up her inner thigh in the dark of the booth. 

“Telling you off?” She asked as her breath hitched slightly, the anticipation of his fingers creeping closer tightening a knot in her stomach. 

“Well, having strong words with me then. Either way, it would be deemed inappropriate for me to shut you up and have my way with you in your office, don’t you think, Chief?” He said with a raised eyebrow, smirking down at her and clearly reading the arousal in her eyes at his words. 

“And how exactly would you have gotten me to be quiet?” She asked, matching his raised eyebrow. 

“Like this,” he muttered before pressing his lips to hers in a firm kiss. 

As their lips moved together and she returned his kiss, his fingers traced the line of her lace panties under her dress. His lips pulled back and his nose nudged against hers slightly, causing her to laugh a little as his arm tightened around her waist, bringing her closer to him in the booth. 

“That would’ve been very inappropriate,” she whispered, pulling back a little to take a sip of her drink, feeling the tequila slightly burn down her throat. 

Her head had started to feel the effects of the tequila, unable to stop her eyes roaming over Derek’s torso, the way the shirt fitted him catching her attention. Her hands moved under the blazer, over his shoulders, pushing it down his arms. 

“But now you’re being inappropriate, undressing me in a crowded bar,” he tutted jokingly, shrugging off the blazer. 

“Says the one with his hand up my skirt,” she countered, leaving one arm over his shoulder as her fingers played with curls of his hair at the nape of his neck. 

“You weren’t complaining,” he murmured as his lips moved to her neck with soft kisses. 

“Definitely not complaining,” she let a quiet moan escape her lips, Derek’s hand gripping at her upper thigh in response to the noise. 

“Good,” he groaned softly, gently nipping at her neck as she downed the rest of her drink. 

“I want shots, do shots with me,” she grinned softly, moving out of the booth and catching his curious eyes as she watched him. 

“Go on then,” he sighed with an amused shake of his head, picking his jacket up before standing with her, his arm going around her waist as they moved over to the bar. 

She stood at the bar and he moved to stand behind her, his hands resting at her waist. She took the opportunity to press herself back against him, and his hands gripped a little tighter as he lowered his lips to her ear. 

“Now you’re just teasing,” he whispered, “I’ll take vodka.”

“It’s called foreplay,” she smirked just before the bartender approached them and she ordered them a shot each, “Just one to start off with.”

“I feel like it will definitely end up being more than one,” he chuckled as he picked up his shot, and they downed them together. She looked up at his face, laughing as he winced.

“That bad?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“I don’t do vodka shots all that much, you’ll be surprised to know,” he grinned before pressing his lips to hers a moment, “I do like the taste of tequila on you, though.”

“What an interesting idea,” she mused, kissing him again once more. 

“Porny thoughts, hm?” He smirked slightly, one of his hands moving round to her abdomen. 

“Very porny thoughts,” she murmured as he held her closer against him. 

“Can I take you home now? Make those thoughts reality?” He asked after she’d ordered more shots for them. 

“More shots,” she grinned, turning in his hold to make eye contact with him as she threw back another shot. 

“How many more?” He murmured, lowering his lips to her neck as she leaned back 

“Just a couple, maybe, see how much you can handle,” she smirked, picking up another small glass of tequila. 

“I can handle more than you seem to think I can,” he said as he kissed her softly again, his hand moving around to her ass with a gentle squeeze. 

She laughed softly as she downed the shot in her hand, their conversation interrupted by the ringing of her phone. She pulled it out of her back, his lips moving down her neck again as she answered the call and she playfully swatted him away, pressing her finger against her ear as she listened to the call, a frown quickly forming on her face. 

“I’ll be there in 20 minutes, call everyone in,” she spoke down the phone before hanging up and meeting his own frown. 

“What is it?” He asked, his fingers running through her hair. 

“You’re about to be paged in, mass trauma,” she sighed, tilting her head to the side a little, “You haven’t had too much to drink have you?”

“I haven’t, but maybe you have,” he suggested, lowering his lips close to hers. 

“Hopefully they don’t need me to operate then,” she murmured, lifting her lips to his a moment, “We need to go.”

“Here,” he said, reaching for his blazer and bringing it over her shoulders, “Looks like it’s getting colder outside.”

“How very gentleman-like of you,” she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. 

“Come on then, Chief,” he teased, leading her out of the bar and to the street to a waiting cab.

“Seattle Grace Hospital, please, as quick as you can,” she said to the driver as she slid in the backseat of the cab with him. 

“I guess we’ll take a rain check then?” He asked, his arm around her waist again as his fingers dancing along her inner thigh, under the skirt of her dress. 

“You need to behave,” she murmured, pressing a few kisses along his jawline, her hand drifting over his thigh. 

“Double standards,” he chuckled, shaking his head a little, “I really was looking forward to taking you out of this dress tonight.”

“Maybe you still have a chance,” she was with an uncharacteristically soft giggle as she moved closer to him, her fingers flexing against the bulge in his jeans. 

“You have definitely drank too much to be able to operate,” he groaned softly, his hand now on her bare hip under the dress, “We need to sober you up.”

“Ten more minutes,” she murmured as her lips found his neck, leaving soft kisses and flickers of her tongue against his stubble. 

“More like two,” he groaned softly again as her fingers teased the zip of his jeans, “As much as I love this, we’re almost outside the ER and you need to be the chief.”

“Fine,” she mumbled against his neck, “I’m not finished with you, though.”

“Good, because I’m not finished with you either. But I think it’s bad enough if anyone sees us arrive in the same taxi,” he pointed out and took his blazer back from around her shoulders. 

“Crap, you’re right. You go ahead first,” she said, sobering up a little as the taxi pulled up outside the ER.

“I’ll have an intern make sure there’s coffee for you,” he said, pressing a light kiss to her lips and running his eyes over her body once more with a mutter of  _ damn _ under his breath. 

“Go, I’ll see you again soon,” she said, biting her lip as she watched shin climb out of the cab, closing the door behind him. She took a deep breath as she grabbed the money for the taxi driver, thanking him before getting out the cab herself. The cold air started to sober her up a bit, but she knew it would be irresponsible of herself to even consider doing more than being the chief right now. She pulled her dress down a little as the cab drove off and she made her way inside the ER. Time to focus on work. 


	8. Chapter 8

It was finally Monday. The whole weekend had been much of a blur and it was just turning 8am on Monday morning. Meredith hadn’t even been home. Trauma after trauma just kept on coming in after they’d been paged into the hospital. She’d sobered up quickly and had soon joined her colleagues in saving the lives of the many patients. It’s like the world was laughing at her for trying to get involved with someone. The most she’d even seen of Derek since Saturday night was from across the room, and it had only been for a moment or two.

Really, she should be going home. If she’d been any other attending, she’d be going home. If her mother were here and she wasn’t stuck running this damn hospital, she’d be at home, in bed. Or at least, she’d be off travelling elsewhere after spending the night in her own bed rather than the hour she’d managed to grab in an on call room.

She ran her fingers through her hair one more time, looking out at the early morning sun that had started to rise. There was less than ten minutes before the department heads were due in for the morning briefing, although she didn’t expect too many of them to actually show. She should’ve just cancelled it. She didn’t even want to be there. But she was.

The coffee had been made, donuts and danishes delivered fresh from down the street, and she sat in the chair at the head of the table in the conference room, waiting. Her own coffee sat on the table in front of her, her fingers tapping against the side of the paper cut as she willed herself not to fall asleep in the chair. The door opened and she sat up in the chair a little more, looking to see who had walked in.

“You look like crap,” Cristina said, grabbing a pastry and sitting in one of the chairs close to Meredith.

“I look better than you,” she rolled her eyes at her friend, “What are you doing in here anyway? You’re not head of cardio.”

“You could change that you know,” Cristina half-joked, “I’ve been sent in place of my boss. He’s gone home to sleep,” she shrugged.

“Interesting,” she said with a raised eyebrow, “Make yourself comfortable then.”

“So… you looked nice on Saturday night, all dressed up. You know who else looked all nice and dressed up? Shepherd,” Cristina said with a smirk.

“Now is really not the time,” Meredith frowned slightly, taking a sip of her coffee.

“Well did you guys… you know? Finally release all that sexual tension?” Cristina continued.

“We didn’t exactly get time to… It didn’t happen okay, and it probably won’t happen. He’s clearly the relationship, chase them down, make them swoon kind of… relationshippy type of guy. That’s not what I need. Not what I want. I just need fun, casual. He’s hardly the type of guy who could stick to that kind of arrangement, as much as he says he could, it just isn’t going to happen and I- ”

She quickly stopped her rambling as the door opened again, and she could hear Cristina’s stifled laugh as Derek walked in, followed by Dr Sloan, who she hadn’t even properly spoken to since she had done her talk two weeks ago. It would figure his best friend would look almost as good as he does, not better, but still… easy on the eyes.

“Good morning Dr Grey, Dr Yang,” he said with a nod looking over the donuts and pastries set in the middle of the conference room table, “Breakfast?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, gesturing towards the food, “Help yourselves.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Sloan said with a grin, grabbing himself a pastry before sitting at the far end of the table.

“That’s very… generous of you,” Derek said with a raised eyebrow that unnerved Meredith slightly.

“He’s got a point, Mer. Your mom would never… people might start getting used to this and they might make you stay here,” she chuckled.

“Oh,” Meredith frowned a little, drinking her coffee.

“Anyway, as I was saying,” Cristina said as she finished of her donut, “When you eat a donut, you don’t think about how the donut feels. You just eat the donut.”

“Cris… Dr Yang!” She scolded, coughing slightly on her coffee, and ignoring the chuckles from the two men in the room.

“Fine, we’ll talk about it later,” Cristina groaned as Meredith glowered at her, more doctors joining them in the room for the meeting.

Meredith composed herself a moment, standing up and turning around and looking out the floor length window a moment as she finished the rest of her coffee. She just needed to get through these next thirty minutes and then she could hide in her office from everyone, bury herself in work. She took a breath before turning around, taking a seat at the head of the table.

“Right, I know it’s been a long weekend for a lot of us, so let’s get this started and we can get on with our days.”

* * *

The meeting was finally over, and her head was starting to pound slightly as she escaped the room, leaving the other attendings behind as she made her way back to her office, partially aware that someone was following behind her. She didn’t dare to look back as she approached the office, not ready to deal with who ever it was. They, however, were pretty adamant. As always.

She opened the door to the office, feeling his hand gently press against the small of her back as he followed her inside and she felt her breath hitch in the back of her throat. Nervous. She felt nervous and she didn’t even know why. Meredith Grey didn’t get nervous.

“Hectic weekend,” he murmured as the door closed behind them, his fingers gently moving her hair to expose her neck.

“You can’t be here,” she breathed softly.

“And why’s that?” He spoke softly as his lips moved over the skin of her neck. He stood behind her still, his arm sliding around her waist and pulling her back against him gently.

“Because… work… job,” she managed to speak, barely, as she let herself relax back against him, too tired to try and push him away right now as his lips travelled to just below her ear.

“Sounds convincing,” he chuckled softly, “have you even slept at all this weekend?”

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” she said with a roll of her eyes, but also fighting back a yawn and covering her hand over her mouth.

“Or you could take a nap now,” he said, pulling his arm back as she moved toward the desk.

“I can’t, maybe later,” she said with a shrug, sitting down on the chair.

“You look like you might fall asleep at your desk,” he said, moving to lean against the desk beside her.

“Are you saying I look like crap?” She asked, raising an eyebrow as she logged on to her laptop.

“Never,” he grinned, reaching to brush her hair behind her ear.

“What are you doing?” She whispered, her bottom lip capturing between her teeth as she looked up at him.

“Well, I was going to try and get you to come and take a nap with me.”

“I can’t, I have calls and meetings…” she sighed softly, looking back at her laptop screen, “Don’t you have patients, Dr Shepherd?”

“Rearranged my schedule so I don’t work over my hours and accidentally kill a patient, figured you wouldn’t need that extra paperwork,” he shrugged.

“How thoughtful of you,” she muttered slightly, reading through her emails she hadn’t managed to check since Friday night.

“I feel like you’re about to kick me out,” he frowned slightly.

“Hm?” She looked up at him briefly before back at the computer, opening an email from her mother.

Her eyes scanned over the email even though she could still feel Derek’s eyes on her. Damn. She knew this as going to end up happening. She groaned softly and closed the laptop, that was the last thing she needed him reading over her shoulder. She crossed her arms and lowered her forehead on them, trying to ignore Derek’s gaze still on her.

“Everything okay?” He asked, his hand resting on her shoulder.

“You need to go, I have calls, and meetings,” she sighed as she stood up, shrugging his hand off her shoulder.

“I was hoping we could rearrange Saturday night,” he said, approaching her as she moved toward the door.

“I don’t..” she bit her lip slightly, turning to look at him, her back to the closed door.

“You don’t…?” His voice lowered slightly as he approached her, his fingers sliding into her hair as he lifted her face to look at him.

“I..” she blinked a moment, unable to think with him standing so close to her, the fire from Saturday night re-igniting her exhausted body, her words escaping her in a small voice, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“You’ve said that before,” he murmured, angling his lips toward hers, backing her up against the door.

“It’s really, really not a good idea,” she breathed, her heart racing at his proximity.

“Hmm, you keep saying that, but,” his words cut off as he pressed his lips to hers, gently at first.

As his lips made contact with hers, the urgency ran through her body and she pressed herself forward against him her fingers gripping between his curls. Her lips parted against his, allowing his tongue to delve into her mouth, a slight main escaping from her against his mouth. His free hand moved down to her lower back, holding her against him more firmly a moment before sliding his hand down to her ass, squeezing gently and eliciting another moan from her as she felt him hard against her. His hand squeezed her ass one more time over the black dress pants she wore before sliding up the back of her blouse, over her bare skin, his lips moving to kiss her jaw. At this point, she was completely gone. He could do anything he wanted to her and she would let him. She wanted this. His touch, his lips… she wanted this.

“Let me show you how good of an idea this is,” he growled softly, his lips moving to her neck with soft bites, his tongue darting out after each one.

“Oh,” she gasped, running her fingers through his hair.

His fingers quickly unbuttoned her blouse, a soft groan emanating from him as his hands brushed over her breasts, settling at her waist, and pressing her back against the door as he slowly pressed kisses over her breasts and down the valley between them. Her fingers gripped his hair a little tighter as his lips moved back up to hers, locking them together, soft moans escaping her as his hips pressed hard against hers, pinning her against the door.

The sound of a loud beeping interrupted them, and Derek groaned against her lips, keeping one hand on her waist as he looked down at her pager. He turned off the noise before pressing another quick kiss to her slightly pouted lips.

“I have to go, but I promise I’ll be back,” he murmured, pressing another lingering kiss to her lips.

“I’ll be… here,” she breathed, stepping away from the door and fastening her blouse, her brain fuzzy and barely able to comprehend what was going on.

He gave her one last grin before he left the office, closing the door behind himself. She smoothed out her blouse and took a deep breath as she somehow made it back to the chat behind her desk, sitting down, feeling more tired than she had before. She leant forward, her elbows on the desk as her fingers ran through her hair, releasing a deep sigh. It was pretty clear she couldn’t fight this now.


	9. Chapter 9

“My car is at your place.”

Her head jerked up as she heard his voice, seeing him leant against her office doorway and she wondered how long he had been stood there, watching her. A slight smirk appeared on her lips, but quickly faded away as she closed the laptop in front of her.

“And what do you want me to do about that?” She asked, watching him carefully with her chin resting on her hands.

“I was thinking we could get a taxi together, split the cost at the very least,” he suggested moving further into the office and closing the door behind himself.

“Hmm, I guess that’s an option,” she shrugged, opening the laptop again.

“What would you suggest?”

“You could get a taxi by yourself and leave me alone to work,” she glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow before turning her attention back to the document open on the screen in front of her.

“Oh no, you need to go home. You’ve been here just as long as I have, and you should get a proper night of sleep,” he pointed out as he moved to sit on the chair across from her on the other side of the desk.

“Please try and refrain from telling me what I should do, and what I need, Dr Shepherd. I am an adult, you know, and currently I’m your Chief,” she said between gritted teeth as she continued typing.

“Don’t worry, I know you’re an adult, and I’m very aware of your temporary Chief-dom,” he gave a smirk which had her rolling her eyes.

“I’m glad to hear it. So, anything else I can do for you?”

“Get a cab with me.”

“Dr Shepherd…”

“Meredith.”

“Dr Shepherd, I have a lot of work to get through here,” she sighed, her eyes not moving from the screen.

“Take a night off.”

“I can’t.”

“Sure you can, you’re the boss, aren’t you?” He teased, reaching to gently push at the laptop screen as though to close it.

“Well, no, that would be my mother,” she sighed, fixing the screen.

“And I’m sure if she were here she’d be telling you to take the night off and go get some sleep.”

“She probably would if she hadn’t… ugh,” her face fell forward on to her arms in frustration, she couldn’t do this for four more weeks, not when…

“If she hadn’t what?” He asked, his hand gently touching her arm, but she shrugged it off.

“I just have to finish this, okay?” She started typing again, rolling her eyes a little.

“What’s so urgent that it can’t wait until tomorrow?” He continued to press.

“The announcement that I have to make tomorrow, probably,” she muttered, before realising she shouldn’t have even given him that much.

“Are you going to let me in on what that is or is that classified information?” He grinned, crossing his arms over his chest, and sitting back in the chair.

“You’ll find out tomorrow with everyone else,” she sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Very secretive,” he said as he raised an eyebrow at her.

“Can’t play favourites, Dr Shepherd.”

“Oh, so I’m your favourite?” He grinned at her still, not letting up with his pestering of her.

“Definitely not what I meant.”

“Hmmm, it’s not what I heard.”

“Believe what you want to believe, De- Dr Shepherd,” she almost slipped. She had to stay professional. Distant. Cold.

“I’ll wait for you if you want to finish up,” he insisted.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to.”

“And who am I to stop you doing what you want to do?” She teased, raising an eyebrow as she closed the laptop.

“Exactly.”

“You’re a pain, you know.”

“You love it.”

“No, I don’t,” she argued back, shaking her head as she started to gather her things, putting them in her bag.

“You at least like it.”

“You keep telling yourself that.”

“What do you want for dinner? Italian, burgers, Chinese…” he quickly changed the subject.

“I can feed myself.”

“I was thinking I could order something for us to pick up on the way back.”

“Wouldn’t it be cold by the time you made it home?” She asked as she put her coat on, fastening the tie around her waist.

“We could always eat at your place,” he suggested as he stood up. 

“Very presumptuous of you, don’t you think?” She asked again as she grabbed her bag and switched the light off, ushering him out of the office and locking the door behind her.

“Well, do you have other plans?”

“I thought I had to go home and sleep,” she shot him a side glance, rolling her eyes.

“With me.”

“With you?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yes, you can sleep with me,” he smirked.

“I wasn’t asking… Go home, Dr Shepherd,” she groaned softly, stuffing her hands into her coat pockets as they walked through the hospital to the main lobby.

“I’m waiting for you, we’re going to sleep together, remember?” He kept the smirk on his face as they stopped outside the front of the hospital.

“No, no we’re not,” she said, looking down at her feet.

“Are you sure about that?” He asked, gently nudging her with his elbow.

“I’m pretty sure about that,” she laughed slightly, looking up at him.

“I think I can change your mind, though, charm you.”

“You’re driving me mad. Come on, let’s go,” she said as she hailed down a taxi.

“Changed your mind?” He asked as they got in the cab and she gave her address to the driver.

“No, we’re getting a cab to my place, you’re then getting in your car and going home,” she rolled her eyes once more, sighing softly, “Don’t you have anyone waiting for you at home? Or do you pester me because you live alone? I’m sure Dr Sloan would be happy to keep you company.”

“Well… I do actually. I live with my Mom, for the time being. And Mark, actually.”

“Oh, well, surely she’s missing you,” she bit her lip a moment, wanting to ask more about his living situation but thinking better of it, it wasn’t any of her business, “I’d say the same about Dr Sloan, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d come straight to my office after seeing him. You’re joined at the hip.”

“I spoke to my mother earlier; she’s having some peace and quiet without Mark and me bothering her,” he chuckled softly before turning to look at her, their eyes catching, “Just dinner, please.”

“I thought we agreed no dates?”

“It’s not a date, it’s two people eating dinner together after a hellishly long weekend.”

“And nothing more than that? You’re sure?”

“I could even be your friend.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she laughed slightly, her fingers fidgeting with her watch.

“Would I ever?”

“Just get out the cab,” she rolled her eyes again.

“Going, going. Are we ordering in then?” He asked as he climbed out of the cab in front of her.

“You’re not letting this go are you?” She said, paying the driver as she climbed out.

“I’m trying my very best to not let you go.”

“I really just want to go to bed,” accentuating her statement with a yawn, her hand covering her mouth.

“I’ve been wanting to get you undressed, naked, to touch every inch of your body since I saw you on Saturday night in that dress. Maybe even before then,” his voice dropped an octave, his lips close to her ear as he pressed his hand against her lower back.

“That’s… forward. Very forward,” she breathed, taken slightly off guard.

“Have I changed your mind yet?” He asked, brushing her hair to the side as he pressed a kiss just below her ear.

“No… no,” her voice a little uneven.

“Are you sure?” He murmured as he moved his lips further down her neck, his fingers moving the collar of her coat out of the way.

“No,” she gave in, her eyes closing for a moment.

“Can I come up?” He asked, his teeth gently grazing her skin.

“Yeah,” she breathed, not sure if she’d regret the decision or not, but she really couldn’t think straight with his lips against her neck, almost as if he already knew her weak spot.

“Great,” he grinned, pulling back but keeping his hand on her lower back as he followed her into the building.

She stepped onto the elevator, raising an eyebrow at him as he moved to stand behind her, his hands settling on her waist in the empty elevator. He lowered his head, pressing a soft kiss to her neck again, enticing a slight moan from her. His fingers crept around to her front, unfastening the tie on her coat as he continued to kiss down her neck, and she leant back against him slightly. The elevator stopped on her floor, and she stepped out of his hold, trying to suppress the grin that threatened to take over her lips as she approached her apartment door, digging her keys out of her bag. He came up behind her as she stuck her key in the door, pressing against her slightly and his hands returning to her waist.

“I think I want you for dinner,” he murmured close to her ear, and she very almost giggled, instead rolling her eyes at his comment as she pushed the door open.

“Do you now?” She asked as she turned in his hold, walking backwards into the apartment as he stayed close, pushing her coat off her shoulders as she dropped her bag to the floor.

She could’ve resisted, she probably should’ve resisted, but right here right now, this is what she wanted. She just wanted to enjoy herself with him and release all the built up tension in her body. It wouldn’t become any more than that. She wouldn’t let it become any more than that.


	10. Chapter 10

She dropped her bag by the door, kicking her shoes off and taking off her coat, throwing it over the back of the couch. She looked over her shoulder at him as he closed the door before turning away again, starting to undress herself. She unbuttoned her blouse, letting it fall to the floor as she unfastened her pants and stepped out of them. She turned to face him, in only her bra and panties now. He’d taken off his coat, putting it with hers, his eyes fixed on her, a shiver running down her spine at his gaze.

He started to move towards her, removing his own clothes until he was just in his boxers. She bit her lower lip subconsciously, her eyes examining his body as he walked toward her, and she felt the heat rush to her cheeks. She wanted to touch him, she wanted him to touch her. But she couldn’t just give in to him so quickly. 

“God, you look amazing,” he murmured as he approached her, his finger brushing over her cheek.

“Just getting ready for bed,” she murmured.

“No dinner?”

“I mean,” her eyes flickered down his body a moment before looking back up at him, “Maybe.”

“I’m starving,” he murmured, lowering his lips to her collarbone to press a few soft kisses there, and she resisted the temptation to run her fingers through his hair.

“I can tell,” she smirked slightly, tilting her head to the side as his lips moved up her neck.

Just as his lips reached hers, she pulled back slightly so they didn’t touch and he raised a silent eyebrow at her. She pressed her lips together and stepped back from him, turning around to head into the bedroom. She knew he was following her, she didn’t need to look back to make sure of that.

“Meredith,” she heard his voice from behind her and she turned to face where he stood.

“Can I help you, Dr Shepherd?” She asked him.

“You definitely can,” he said, a playful glint in his eyes as he moved toward hers again.

His hands moved to her waist, pulling her hips against his as he pressed his lips to hers in what was initially a soft, slow kiss. Her fingers moved into his hair, tangling themselves in his curls as she returned the kiss, brushing her tongue over his lower lip to deepen the kiss. His hands move around to her back, swiftly unclipping her bra and moving the straps off her shoulders.

“Lie down,” he murmured, gently nipping her lower lip.

Her tongue traced her lower lip where his teeth had been as she sat down on the bed, leaning back on her arms as she watched him, not wanting him out of her sight. He moved over her, his hand running up her side as he pressed kisses to her shoulder and over her collarbone.

“Lie. Down,” he murmured as he nipped her neck, “I’m trying to take care of you, here.”

“I don’t need taking care of,” she whispered, but followed his order to lay down anyway, her arms moving above her head.

“I know, but let me do it anyway,” he said as he trailed kisses down to the valley between her breasts, taking one in each hand with a gentle squeeze.

She moaned out softly at the feel of his callous fingers on the sensitive skin of her breast, her breath hitching in her throat as his tongue flickered over her nipple. Her hips moved instinctively up against his as he continued to tease her nipple and she moved one hand to tangle her fingers into his hair again. As he moved to give the same attention to her other breast, one hand brushed down her abdomen, his thumb pressing against her clit to elicit another, louder moan from her.

“God, you’re so wet,” he groaned slightly as he moved his lips back to hers, his fingers brushing against the wet opening of her pussy with his thumb still moving firmly against her clit.

“I want… inside,” she breathed against his lips, her head swimming as she returned his kiss.

“Patience,” he murmured, sliding a single finger inside her slowly.

“More… fuck,” she gasped as his finger curled inside her, her breaths coming quicker as the heat flushed her skin.

Her gaze followed him as he left a trail of kisses down her body, until his tongue flickered against her clit, his fingers leaving her momentarily to pull her panties down her legs. She whimpered slightly as his tongue teased her, her hips rising up to meet his touch as he slid two fingers back inside her, moving them slowly back and forth.

She slid her fingers into his hair, her walls gripping around her fingers with the build up of her orgasm, his own hand moving up to her breast and massaging her nipple between his fingers. The extra stimulation caused Meredith to cry out in pleasure, his name escaping her lips as he pressed his tongue more firmly against her clit.

“Derek… I’m so,” she gasped out between moans.

“Come, baby,” he murmured almost inaudibly as he slid his fingers to her clit.

Just as his tongue pushed between her walls, her orgasm hit and she could feel her hips moving with the movement of his tongue as the intense pleasure rushed through her, leaving her brain fuzzy as his hands moved to her hips, gripping gently as his tongue tasted every inch of her.

“Derek,” she murmured in her orgasm induced haze, her fingers gently pulling on his hair as he kissed and nipped at her inner thighs.

“Meredith,” he breathed, pressing kisses up her body, “You’re so gorgeous.”

“That was…” she groaned softly as he kissed her again, tasting herself on him as his arm moved under her waist to pull her up against him.

She could feel his hard length pressing against her abdomen and slid her hand between them, gripping him. She could feel his pre-cum dripping onto her fingers and she moved her hand up and down slowly, moaning as his nipped at her lips, soft groans escaping him. One of his hands moved into her hair, gripping it gently and pulling her head back as he moved to kiss and suck at her neck as she continued the manipulation of her hand around him.

“I need you,” he groaned softly, “before I finish in your hand. I want to be inside you.”

“Wait,” she breathed, reaching to her bedside table and pulling a condom out of the drawer.

“Fuck,” he gasped as she rolled the condom over his length, squeezing her fingers around him a moment before guiding him to her entrance.

She didn’t expect this to last long. He’d been so close, there was no way he could last much longer. He slipped inside her, her walls gripping around him tight as he moved slowly back and forth. Both moaned out as they clung to one another, hips moving in synchronised thrusts, and it wasn’t long before their lips were attached again and she could still taste herself on his tongue.

He started moving harder and faster inside her, and she could feel another orgasm building that she really wasn’t expecting. He was a thousand times better than she had expected, he had looked good but she didn’t know anyone could be this good. She couldn’t deny at this moment he was probably the best sex she’d had in her life. Her brain started to go fuzzy as his movements sped up, a layer of sweat between them as they were both reaching their climaxes. As if he wasn’t pushing her over the edge enough, his hand gripped into her hair, gently tugging it and titling her head back as he kissed and sucked at her neck.

“Fuck, Derek, oh,” she moaned out, her back arching.

“Meredith”

“Yeah?”

“You feel amazing…”

“So close… fuck, Derek.”

“Mer… Meredith, fuck.”

“Oh, oh,” she breathed coming down off her high as he finished, slowly thirsting inside her a few more times, his lips finding hers again in soft, slow kisses.

“That was…”

“Amazing?”

“Better than amazing.”

“Hmmm,” she groaned softly as he rolled off her and off the bed a moment, going into the bathroom, and she closed her eyes as exhaustion washed over her.

She tensed slightly as she felt his arm move around her middle after a moment, her eyes opening as she turned to look at him. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers a moment, and she swore she forgot what she was about to say to him. He gently pulled her closer, bringing the blankets around them as she returned his kiss.

“Sleep,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

She didn’t know why she did it. Why she buried her face against his shoulder as sleep overtook her, his nose buried against her hair as he held her close. She didn’t know why his hold made her feel so safe. Maybe she could just allow herself this for one night. It didn’t mean anything. It couldn’t mean anything.

* * *

He was still here. She was awake, her alarm was going off, it was five in the morning, and he was still here. She was also starving after having not eaten all that much the day before, but that could wait. There was a boy in her bed, and they were never supposed to spend the night. And cuddling certainly was not something she did, ever.

She tensed slightly as his arm pulled her closer, his face buried against her hair. A soft groan escaped his lips and she glanced to him a moment, seeing he was starting to wake up and she shut her eyes, silently praying he would realise he was here when he shouldn’t be and leave. But apparently, that was far too much to ask for.

“Your alarm is set for far too early,” he grumbled, as she turned away from him, reaching to turn it off.

“Busy day, things to do,” she mumbled, “I need to get up, which means you need to get up and leave, because you definitely shouldn’t still be here and this was… well it wasn’t a mistake, but it was stupid and probably shouldn’t have happened, not that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did, but it was a bad idea.”

“Slow down, it’s too early for me to follow what you’re saying,” he said as she climbed out of the bed.

“Just… I’m going to take a shower and when I get back, you will be gone so… I’ll see you later, or whatever,” she said, pulling her robe on around herself.

“Do you say that to all the guys you take to bed?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Yes… no, no just up, leave,” she stammered slightly, going through into the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

She leant against the door, releasing a deep breath as she tried to pull herself together. She just needed to shower, he needed to leave, and she needed to get to work. There was too much happening today for her head to be all over the place. She had a new department head starting, she had to pass on the message from her mother, she had the surgery on Emma… there was just too much. She needed her head to be in the game.

She showered quickly, still feeling sore from last night. Sore in all the right places, mind, but she couldn’t think about that right now. She couldn’t think about how much she’d give for a repeat of the night before. She wrapped a dry towel around herself before heading back into the bedroom, fully expecting Derek to have left, only to be hit by the strong smell of coffee.

She frowned as she walked to her kitchen, still dressed in only a towel as she tried to seek him out. She stood in the doorway, watching as he poured coffee into two mugs with only his boxers on.

“What are you doing?”

“Making coffee.”

“You were supposed to leave. Go home. Shower. Be on time for work.”

“And instead I made you coffee.”

“I can see that.”

“Do you not want coffee?”

“Are you… of course I want coffee,” she grumbled as she took the mug and walked back through to the bedroom.

“There we go then.”

“But now you need to leave.”

“I thought we could drive in together, cut down on fuel costs, and carbon emissions. Good for the planet.”

“But then wouldn’t you need to come back here again to pick your car up? Because I’m pretty sure I’m going to be staying overnight.”

“Yeah, about that… my car was never here.”

“Are you kidding me?” she turned on him, anger flashing in her eyes.

“No. I never brought my car in the first place, I left it at home,” he shrugged moving toward her.

“You planned this,” she pointed her finger, almost jabbing him in the chest with it.

“No… maybe, a little. I think it worked out quite well for both of us.”

“You lied to me.”

“Wasn’t it worth it?”

“You…”

“Because I definitely didn’t hear any complaining last night.”

“Well last night I didn’t know you had lied to get into bed with me.”

“And what about now?” he asked, quirking his eyebrow as his hand moved to gently grip her ass, still covered by the towel.

“Derek…”

“Meredith.”

“I don’t… I don’t have time,” she breathed as his lips hovered by her neck.

“Yes, you do.”

“No… Derek.”

“Okay but…”

“Later,” she sighed, moving away from him and towards the closet, sipping at the coffee.

“Something to look forward to.”

“I guess… you’ll need a lift then. Your place or the hospital?”

“I have spare clothes at the hospital, I just need to grab a shower… if that’s okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll just finished getting ready.”

“Not going to join me?”

“First of all, I already had my shower. Secondly, I don’t have time!”

“Hey, I was just asking,” he smirked at her with a soft laugh before heading through into the bathroom she’d recently emerged from.

She shook her head before starting to get ready herself. He really shouldn’t have stayed. She should have made sure he left her apartment the minute they’d finished and instead she’d curled closer to him and slept tangled up in him. It had felt… nice, safe. She had to stop giving into it though. If this was going to be anything, it was just going to be sex, and that was it. By the time he’d come out of the bathroom, dressed with just his hair still damp, she was ready to get going. She just needed to make sure it was clear to him that this was still just sex, just having fun, there’d be no more sleepovers.

“You get this look on your face, you know, when you’re thinking about something, like really thinking about something.”

“Your point?” she rolled her eyes as she put her coat on and grabbed her bag from where she’d dropped it the night before, checking she had everything.

“Just wondering what you were thinking so hard about,” he shrugged grabbing his own coat.

“Nothing for you to worry about right now,” she said as she lad the way out of her apartment to where her car was parked up.

“Not right now? So what you’re saying is, I should worry about it later on, okay,” he nodded, walking close beside her, seemingly intent of using up his pestering quota before it even turned eight in the morning.

“It’s far too early to deal with you right now,” she commented as she got in the car, gesturing for him to get in the passenger seat, “Come on, you’ve already made me later than I want to be.”

“I like this bossy side of you, have I told you that?” he asked as he put on his seatbelt and she pulled out the car, heading toward the hospital.

She just shook her head in annoyance, turning up the radio as she continued to drive and avoiding glancing over at him even though she kept feeling his eyes on her. She needed to nip this in the bud before he got too comfy around her. He definitely couldn’t be like this at the hospital. But for now, she kept her eyes on the road, driving them to work. She just needed to get through another day.


	11. Chapter 11

She had to make the announcement. It wasn’t even that big of an announcement to anyone else, probably. She just had to say it. She could just send it out in an email, that seemed like the easiest way to do it, but it seemed pointless to have a meeting and not bring it up until an email later on in the day that people might not even see.

She hated the announcement she had to make, and she didn’t know if people would even care about it, if it would even affect them all that much. It probably wouldn’t mean much to anyone else, it just meant a lot for her. She ran her fingers through her hair as she let out a deep breath, and straightened her lab coat before she left the office, almost running into Derek who was apparently stood right outside the door.

“Dr Shepherd! What are you doing?” she demanded as his hands grabbed her arms when she stumbled.

“I was just coming to see you, where are you rushing off to?” he asked with a slight chuckle as he released her arms.

“I have to… meeting. There’s a meeting, you know there’s a meeting because you’re supposed to be at the meeting and instead you’re lingering outside my office,” she said as she composed herself, locking the office door.

“There’s… twenty minutes before that meeting,” he said, checking his watch and walking beside her, apparently.

“Yes, well I have to go and meet someone first,” she said, glancing at him, noticing a more happy demeanour about him. 

“I came to thank you, actually,” he said as they walked.

“What for?” she raised an eyebrow at him as they stepped on to the elevator.

“Your hiring decision,” he shrugged, leaning against the back wall.

“My what?”

“You hired a new doctor?”

“I didn’t hire anybody,” she laughed slightly, facing away from him.

“Who did then?” she heard his murmur just as she felt his presence close behind her.

“Ellis or Richard, or… wait how do you know there’s a new doctor?” she turned her head to look at him, only for their lips to meet in an unexpected kiss.

“I know things,” he murmured, his hands resting on her waist as she allowed the kiss to continue for a few moments.

“I’m sure you do,” she smirked as she pulled her lips back, stepping forward out of his hold as the elevator came to a stop.

“Anyway, pass on my thanks,” he said, slightly breathless.

“Why are you thanking whoever hired her for the hiring decision?” she asked as they stepped off the elevator and walked toward the main lobby.

“Because it has made my best friend a very happy man,” Derek grinned as he nodded towards where Mark stood with a familiar red-haired woman.

“What do you… Addison?” Meredith stood there in slight shock. Ellis didn’t mention anything about Addison coming here. Not even a hint. She could kill her mother sometimes.

“Meredith!” Addison grinned at her, opening her arms.

“What are you doing here?” Meredith frowned slightly as she quickly hugged Addison, feeling a slight tightness in her chest.

“She didn’t tell you?” Addison asked, confused at Meredith’s confusion.

“Tell me what?” Meredith raised an eyebrow as she stood back from the hug.

“Oh, she didn’t tell you, did she?” Addison sighed, biting her lip slightly.

“Wait, you two know each other?” Derek butted in, additionally confused, but she ignored him, she didn’t have time to explain anything, nor did she feel inclined to.

“Ellis hired me, Meredith. I’m the new head of foetal surgery,” Addison explained, also ignoring Derek.

“I don’t know why I didn’t even think… Right, okay. Let’s get going then,” Meredith sighed, turning to walk with Addison to the conference room ready for the meeting.

“Yeah. How are you anyway? I haven’t seen you in almost…”

“I’m fine. Busy. Dr Shepherd, did you need something?” Meredith cut Addison off quickly before she could say anymore, wary of Derek hovering nearby as they walked.

“I was just tagging along…” he started.

“Don’t you have a department to run? Patients to see?” she all but snapped at him, immediately regretting the harshness in her tone.

“I guess I’ll just see you at the meeting,” he nodded, pressing his lips together with a slight frown as he turned to head off in a different direction.

“Don’t be late,” she said to his retreating figure, her voice a little softer

“Meredith…” Addison started, and Meredith could tell from her tone of voice it wouldn’t be about work.

“Have you been to HR?” Meredith asked, quickly changing the subject before it could begin.

“Yeah, I was just coming to find you. I had suspected Ellis didn’t say anything about my arrival,” Addison shrugged as they entered the conference room.

“Yeah, she likes to blindsight me like that.”

“Look, Meredith, I understand it’s hard for you to see me, I do,” the red head said, her voice softer now as the door closed behind them.

“Just… no one knows, okay? Ellis, Richard, Cristina… that’s it,” she turned to look at

“The last thing I would do is tell anyone.”

“I know,” Meredith sighed as sat in a chair.

“I’m here for the job,” Addison shrugged, sitting down as well.

“And apparently something to do with Dr Sloan?” Meredith raised an eyebrow with a slight grin.

“Well, maybe, sort of,” Addison blushed slightly, running her fingers through her hair.

“Maybe?”

“He just picked up and followed Derek, I swear they can’t live without the other. But apparently I missed him too much… it’s a bit of a mess,” she laughed slightly, shaking her head. 

“It sounds like it,” Meredith laughed softly in response.

“I am glad to see you again, Meredith.”

“I’m glad to see you again too, Addie. Honestly, you are the best for the job and I’m surprised my mother didn’t hire you earlier.”

“She did try. A few times.”

“Okay, yeah, not surprised at all,” Meredith rolled her eyes with a slight grin.

“How long are you standing in for her?”

“It was only supposed to be till the end of this week, but she’s extended her time away by another three weeks.”

“But she’ll be back before…?”

“Yeah, either she’ll be back or she’ll send Richard back.”

“And I can imagine you’re going insane stuck in one place?”

“Absolutely insane.”

“When are you heading back out?”

“Three weeks.”

“Italy?”

“Every year.”

“Derek just go in,” Meredith heard Mark’s voice from outside the door.

Meredith moved over to the door, opening it and folding her arms over her chest as Derek practically fell into the room. Mark broke out in hysterics as Addison just sat there watching, shaking her head at them.

“Is this a hospital or a high school?” Meredith asked, expecting an answer with her hand crossed over her chest. 

“There’s five more minutes to the meeting, I was just waiting for it to start,” Derek shrugged as he straightened his lab coat.

“Dr Shepherd. Is this a hospital or a high school?” she asked again, her eyebrows raised.

“I’m pretty sure it’s a hospital,” he said, looking around before catching her eye with a slight smirk, stepping a little closer to her, “If it were a high school I’d probably suggest…”

“Don’t even try and finish that sentence. Go and sit down,” she said as she rolled her eyes, aware of Mark continuing to snicker, “You too, Dr Sloan.”

“You’re an idiot,” she heard Addison saying and then the distinct sound of someone being hit over the head.

“Cristina, why are you here again?” Meredith asked as her friend sauntered into the room.

“We have this conversation every time you’ve held a meeting, I have been sent here, against my own will,” Cristina claimed as she sat near the head of the table.

“Right, yeah,” she ran her fingers through her hair, closing her eyes a moment as she took a breath. She just needed to get this over with.

The room started to fill with more of the department heads and she greeted each of them as they entered. She tried to ignore the conversation going on between Derek, Mark and Addison, but to no avail.

“I still don’t know why you didn’t tell us you were coming.”

“Element of surprise, Mark, you know like how you two picked up and moved here so suddenly.”

“Okay, it wasn’t that sudden, and there’s no way Derek could’ve stayed after…”

“Mark,” Derek seemed to warn him, “Not here.”

“You’re an idiot, Derek.”

“Me? I’m an idiot?”

“Yes, you’re an idiot.”

“I don’t see how I’m an idiot, Mark’s the idiot, he’s the one that followed me.”

“You know exactly why I think you’re an idiot,” Addison said, and apparently that ended the conversation as the rest of the room quietened.

“Okay, you know I hate these things but we have an addition to the staff and other things that couldn’t be sent in an email,” Meredith sighed as she started, picking up a stack of papers, handing them to Cristina to start passing on, “Current department stats, if they need improvement, improve them. If not, keep up the standard, or aim higher if you so please.”

She caught Cristina’s eyes as a slight murmur hummed in the room, Cristina raising an eyebrow at her, clearly having caught on to her mood. Meredith just shook her head slightly and moved on.

“Dr Grey and Dr Webber have extended their time away, and will be gone for a further three weeks. If you have a problem with that, see me or contact them directly, whichever suits. It shouldn’t change how things are currently working around here.”

When no one seemed opposed, she gestured towards Addison as she continued, “And finally, Dr Addison Montgomery is joining us from New York to head up our growing foetal surgery department as well as supporting in OB, so make introductions, get to know each other, work together.”

“Any questions or anything to be brought up before we end this meeting?” she looked around the room a moment, catching a questioning look in Derek’s eye but ignoring him for now.

“Great. Get back to work,” she concluded the meeting when no one said anything, sitting in a chair at the head of the table where Cristina had stayed behind, as the rest of the doctors began to filter out of the room.

“No wonder you’re so crabby,” Cristina scoffed, “How long has it been since you weren’t able to travel?”

“I honestly couldn’t tell you,” Meredith sighed, scrunching up her nose, “I think the longest time before now was last winter with those snow storms and I got stuck in London. And that was only a week.”

“Anywhere you were supposed to go? Other than…”

“Paris. Paris was trying to get me to fly over so at least I have an excuse to not have to go,” she shrugged, “Or they’ll have to wait until after Italy.”

“Are they definitely coming back before then?”

“Ellis said if not she’d send Richard back, she knows better than that,” Meredith said with a hollow laugh, realising Derek was still in the room, stood by the door, “Did you need something, Dr Shepherd?”

“I have a case I could use your help on,” he said, flashing a grin at her.

“A case?” she perked up a bit at the sound of that. It’s actually what she needed. She needed to cut, “I’ll see you later, Cris. I’ll speak to Ellis about Rogers.”

“I’d really appreciate it, a promotion would definitely be good for me,” Cristina grinned at her.

“No one said anything about a promotion,” Meredith rolled her eyes as she picked up her files, “Let’s go then, Dr Shepherd. Tell me about this patient.”

“16 year old girl, unexplained left focal seizures with no apparent cause,” he started, pulling up the chart on a tablet he had grabbed on their way past the nurses’ station.

“You’re needing diagnosis help?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him as they stepped on to the elevator.

“As terrible as it must sound, yes I’m asking for your help with a diagnosis,” he chuckled, pulling up the scans and passing the tablet over. He used the opportunity of no one being around to place his hand on her hip as she studied the scan, his lips pressing just below her ear.

“Hmm,” she hummed softly, trying to ignore the chill going through her as he nipped her skin, “did you have someone do a patient history?”

“Yeah, but I can’t figure anything from it,” he sighed as he ran his hand moved up her side, dangerously close to her breast, “Parents want answers. We need answers. Her heart stopped the last time she seized.”

“So we’re pressed for time,” she murmured as she looked through the chart and then stepped back from him when a slight blush coloured her cheeks, “Where’s the detailed patient history? It’s not here.”

“It’s not… I’ll page the intern,” he groaned, pulling out his phone as he paged someone, “Do you want to meet the patient or just speak with the intern?”

“Something tells me the intern is slightly incompetent so I’ll go and see the patient,” she frowned, glancing at the intern assigned to the case that showed up on the case file, “It’s good to get a full picture, anyhow. I assume you’re coming with me?”

“Yeah, I’ll come with you. Intern should be meeting us there,” he said as they stepped off the elevator.

“Do we know who the intern’s resident is?”

“Do you want them paged too?”

“It’s not you that should be taking the blame for the intern’s incompetence,” she shook her head slightly as they moved down the hallway, “You need to speak to their resident, it’s their problem to deal with.”

“Right, yeah, you’re right.”

“You were in private practice before, this is a teaching hospital. Don’t be soft on them or they won’t learn,” she sighed a little, glancing to him, “Not everyone is going to be your friend.”

“You think I’m soft on them?”

“I think you want people to like you more, they should be respecting you,” she shrugged as they turned the corner.

“People respect you and you don’t work here,” he commented.

“Where do you think I did my residency?” she laughed slightly, “I didn’t always travel to a new city each week.”

“I didn’t realise you’d done it here,” his brow furrowed as they walked into an empty stairwell.

“Like Ellis Grey wouldn’t have her daughter here?”

“That’s a fair point… why are we in a stairwell? Aren’t we going to see the patient?” he asked when she came to a stop, leaning against the wall.

“You can’t keep feeling me up in elevators,” she said bluntly.

“And here I thought you enjoyed being felt up in elevators,” he raised an eyebrow, moving to stand closer in front of her.

“It’s not that I don’t… like it,” she rolled her eyes as she took a breath, determined to keep her composure, “It’s public. And public is a definite no. Including comments about what you’d be doing if this were a high school.”

“I thought being alone in an elevator together was private enough,” he moved closer, his head tilting towards hers as his hand settled at her waist.

“This also counts as public,” she warned him, but couldn’t resist angling her own head slightly toward him.

“I don’t see anyone else around,” he smirked slightly.

“Anyone could walk through that door,” she murmured, “and stop looking at me like you’ve seen me naked.”

“But I have seen you naked, and I really, really enjoyed it,” his smirk stayed plastered on his lips as he moved closer, his body close to being pressed up against hers.

“And if you carry on you’ll never see it again,” she said, unable to resist smirking back at him.

“That’s just mean,” he frowned playfully, his hand gripping her waist as he pressed against her.

“We have a patient to see,” she whispered, almost breathless as he pressed his hips to hers.

“You’re right, we do,” he murmured, pressing his lips against hers for a brief moment before stepping back, “Let’s go then.”

“You…” she breathed, pushing herself off the wall in a slightly dazed state as she followed him back out of the stairwell and onto the hospital floor.

“Me?” he smirked at her, clearly knowing full well what he’d started.

“I’ll get you back for that,” she muttered, bringing up the patient chart on the tablet again as they approached the patient room.

“Oh, I don’t doubt you will, Dr Grey,” he chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

This was definitely about to get more interesting for her, and hopefully it would be worth the extra three weeks she had to stick around for. She just had to make sure not to get attached, it was supposed to be just a bit of fun to keep her occupied, that’s all. Or it’s at least what she kept telling herself.


	12. Chapter 12

“How did you even come up with that?” Derek asked as they scrubbed out of surgery together.

“It’s… gut instinct, maybe? I just had a feeling,” she shrugged, drying off her hands with a small grin on her face. 

“It has to be more than that,” he grinned back at her, and she could feel a thrill run through her as their eyes met.

“Patient history is important, Dr Shepherd,” she laughed softly as they left the small room, probably stood too close to one another as they walked through the hallways.

“And you were amazing in there, operating with you… it’s something different. Good different. Amazing different,” he said, and she couldn’t help but agree with him.

“So that wasn’t just me feeling that?” she found herself grinning wider, and really she was aching to feel his body pressed against hers again.

“No, I felt that too. Like… we knew each other’s next moves even though we barely spoke,” he tried to explain as they stepped on to the elevator, “even now it’s like…”

“The intense need for you to be inside me?” she turned to look at him and spoke bluntly just as the doors closed.

“That’s exactly what I’m feeling right now,” he murmured, his hands moving to her waist as he pressed her back against the wall, his lips finding hers.

“Oh,” she gasped softly at the quick movement, returning his kiss eagerly as her arms wrapped around his neck.

“I want you… naked…” he gasped between kisses, his hands moving up the inside of her scrub top, his fingers massaging against her skin.

“If only,” she groaned against his lips, pressing her hips against his and feeling his obvious hard on against her, “Fuck, office, five minutes.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” he murmured as his lips moved to her neck, his hands sliding into her scrub pants to grip her ass gently a moment before he let go, the elevator coming to a stop and the doors opening just as they separated from each other.

She started to pull her hair out of the plaits she’d put in for surgery as she quickly made her way to her office, doing her best to keep her breathing steady. She groaned inwardly when she arrived, finding Cristina sat on the couch, clearly waiting for her.

“What are you doing in here?”

“It’s lunch. I’m ready for lunch. Are you ready for lunch?”

“Not right now, no,” Meredith said, her teeth gritting together slightly in annoyance. Derek would be here any minute.

“We’ve had lunch at this time everyday since you got here,” Cristina commented, and Meredith knew she was trying to figure her out, watching as she began closing all the blinds in the office.

“Not today, you need to go,” Meredith said, giving her a pointed look as she took off her lab coat.

“You’re in a mood,” Cristina commented as she moved toward the door, “was it really that insufferable working with Shepherd?”

Before Meredith could respond, the office door opened and Derek stood there, closing his mouth as if he had been about to say something before he spotted Cristina. Meredith took a breath, her hands on her hips as she looked at Cristina.

“Cristina, please leave,” she looked at her with pleading eyes, “please, go.”

“Fine, fine,” she rolled her eyes as she left the room, walking past Derek who had moved a little more inside, “I will find you later.”

“Close the damn door,” Meredith all but growled at him once Cristina had disappeared, and she pulled off her scrub top as Derek shut the door and locked it.

“God, you’re gorgeous,” he muttered as he turned to face her, pulling off his own top.

She kicked off her shoes before shimmying out of her scrub pants, leaving her in just her underwear as she moved toward him. His fingers ran through her hair, pushing it back as she looked up at him, and soon his lips were against hers in hot, passionate kisses, backing her up against the desk. 

“You’re overdressed,” she murmured between kisses.

“I’m sure you can fix that,” he smirked as his lips moved to her jaw, his hands moving to her hips and lifting her onto the desk.

She released a soft moan as she felt his teeth nip at her neck, her hands pulling at the string on his scrub pants and pushing them down before she wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing him closer against her. His hand moved quickly, unclipping her bra and pulling it off as he gently sucked at her neck, before pulling at her panties to drag them down her legs. Her fingers ran through his hair as her heels dug into the back of his thighs, his body pressed up against hers without an inch of space as he kissed her again.

“You’re teasing,” she murmured against his lips, her teeth catching his lower lip with a gentle tug.

“I’m enjoying you,” he murmured back with a slight groan as his pressed against her inner thigh.

“Later,” she gasped softly, “We don’t have time, I just need…”

“As you say,” he murmured, close to her ear, “but I’ll be holding you to that promise of later.”

* * *

“Meredith!”

She turned as she heard her name being called down the hallway by Addison and she raised an eyebrow in questioning.

“Dr Montgomery?”

“I was just hoping we could catch up a bit, you know,” she shrugged as she caught up with her. “I just wanted to know how you’ve been getting on.”

“Getting on?” Meredith frowned slightly.

“I like to catch up… we haven’t spoken in the past three years. I want you to know you can talk to me, about anything,” Addison said, lowering her voice.

“Addison…” Meredith looked around a moment, “Look, I’m really grateful for what you did for me. I really, really can’t thank you enough. Nothing could’ve made what happened better, but you made it easier than it could’ve been, and I’ll always be grateful for that.”

“I just… I don’t know. You seem annoyed with me, and I don’t know why,” Addison sighed a little.

“I’m not annoyed with you,” Meredith bit her lip a moment as she started to tear up a bit, “I can’t… we need to go somewhere else.”

“Okay,” she nodded, “We can go to my office?”

“Yeah,” she sighed, wiping at her eyes as she followed Addison to her office, taking a seat on the couch.

“You can talk to me, Meredith. Doctor patient confidentiality still applies here,” Addison said with a small smile, passing Meredith a tissue.

“I know, I just… I don’t talk about it. And seeing you brings it all back up again. It isn’t something that people know about so I just, I have to turn off my emotions.”

“I understand that completely, I want you to know that I’m here. If you need to talk, or you need a quiet minute. No one will hear about anything from me.”

“I really do appreciate that.”

“So, how are you getting on?”

“I work, I travel. I keep myself occupied.”

“Do you still speak to Ryan?”

“No, we don’t… he sends a message once every couple months but I… I can’t talk to him.”

“And you’re getting check ups still?”

“I haven’t for a while.”

“Well, I don’t mind if you have a minute over the next week.”

“Thank you, I… the less people who know the better.”

“I know you think that, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of, or that you have to hide away.”

“I…” she looked down at her watch as she fidgeted with it, taking a deep breath, “I have a meeting to get to.”

* * *

“You’re still living at your parents, right?” Meredith asked, not needing to look up to know Derek had just walked in the office, 6pm sharp as promised.

“Yeah, I am,” he confirmed with a slight chuckle as he sat in a chair opposite her.

“Just thought we could switch it up a bit, but maybe not if you’re living at your parents’ house,” she smirked slightly, tapping the end of her pen against her lips a moment.

“We could book a hotel at the weekend, a whole night of uninterrupted sex,” he suggested, his eyes obviously focused on her lips as he spoke, “and… I can’t come over till later, there’s something I have to do first, at home. But I can be over at ten, if that’s not too late for you.”

“Right,” she frowned slightly lowering the pen, “why are you here now then? Shouldn’t you be getting home?”

“I wanted to see you, let you know the plan. See if you wanted me to bring food, or…”

“There’s no need for that,” she shook her head, moving around the desk and standing in front of him as she leant back against it, her head tilted to the side slightly, “This is just sex, Derek. The only food I would ever expect you to bring would be whipped cream, or chocolate sauce.”

“I’ll definitely keep that in mind,” he said as he stood, moving to stand in between her legs as she perched herself on the edge of the desk.

“Good,” she murmured as his hands moved to her thighs and her arms slid around his neck, “You should probably get going.”

“I really should, but,” he lowered his lips to hers, gently gripping her thighs as he kissed her, slow but firm, and she couldn’t help but kiss him back, her legs squeezing his waist slightly.

“You know I hate teasing,” she murmured against his lips, her fingers tangling into his dark curls.

“Do I?” he smirked against her lips, “You didn’t have to wear trousers today.”

“I rarely wear skirts,” she gasped as his hands moved up her back, under her blouse, his lips moving to her neck with a slight groan.

“Very inconvenient,” he murmured close to her ear, “I have to go now.”

“Do you have to?” she whimpered softly.

“Yes, I have to,” he groaned softly as she pulled on his hair slightly.

“No fun,” she pouted as he pulled back from her.

“Hey, I’m lots of fun,” he grinned as he moved toward the door, “you know I’m lots of fun.”

“I know you’re leaving instead of having fun,” she rolled her eyes as she grabbed her bag, closing her laptop and holding it against her chest.

“I have to go and do this, and then I’ll be right over,” he chuckled, opening the door open for her.

“We should probably stop leaving together like this,” she murmured, more to herself as they walked toward the elevator.

“This is entirely coincidental, we aren’t going home together this time,” he grinned at her as the doors opened and they stepped inside.

“This isn’t going to happen every night, you know,” she said, giving him a pointed look, “and we need to stop doing it in the hospital.”

“What? You love doing it in the hospital,” he murmured as he stood close behind her, “You proved that one earlier.”

“Thin ice, Dr Shepherd,” she murmured, her head titling to the side slightly.

“You change your attitude quickly,” he observed.

“I have a reputation to uphold, how do you think Dr Grey would react if she came back and all I’d managed to achieve was screwing the head of neurosurgery?”

“I think you’re doing a great job as interim Chief, besides anything happening between us,” he commented, “and I’m not the only one who thinks so.”

“Oh, really?” she turned to look at him with a slight frown.

“Yes, and regardless of what you do in your personal life, she should be proud of you,” he shrugged, giving her a slight smile.

“Flattery will get you far,” she looked away again, feeling the slight heat on her cheeks.

“Good to know,” he said as they stepped off the elevator, “I guess I’ll see you later?”

“You will,” she nodded, a slight grin on her face before she turned to head toward her car.

Sex. It was just sex. She needed to remember it was just sex. She couldn’t feel anything more than that. He was great in bed and they were having fun, teasing. She couldn’t be wondering what he was up to tonight, why he hadn’t just gone straight back to her place tonight. She really couldn’t.


	13. Chapter 13

She was almost halfway through the week, Tuesday night. It would finally be over soon, and she could relinquish the responsibility of this damn hospital. Ellis and Richard would be back on Saturday and she had everything set for her to leave on Sunday night. She couldn’t wait to be gone again, to go somewhere where nobody knew her. Or rather, they didn’t know the real her, or the person she let people see. She wasn’t needed anywhere; she didn’t need to be anywhere, and her phone would only be available for emergencies. She’d turn it off completely if she could but it’s the only way her mother wouldn’t pester her.

She was pretty sure she was still tired from the weekend prior. They’d gone to the hotel Saturday night, and ended up staying awake all night just exploring each other’s bodies. It had been different in a way. It wasn’t a quick hook up in an on-call room, or a tryst in her office or his office. It had felt more than just a one-night stand, she had started to feel something more and that scared her. She had avoided being alone with him ever since because it scared her so much.

She currently sat shut away in her office, working over a case file she’d been sent that morning from New York. Ironically enough, it had come from Derek’s old chief at Mount Sinai for her to take a look at. She wasn’t sure why it had been sent to her and not him, but she didn’t mind too much. It was an extraordinary butterfly glioblastoma in a 12-year-old girl that they wanted her to consult on, see if there was anything she could do to help. She looked over the scans, chewing on her thumbnail as she thought about it.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” she heard his voice suddenly, and she glanced up at the doorway, a knot tying on her stomach.

“I’m busy,” she murmured, sighing slightly as she adjusted her position in her seat, pulling one leg up against her chest as she zoomed in on the scan on the tablet in her hand.

“You’re always busy,” he said.

“I’m a busy person, you know I am,” she glanced up at him again before looking over the case notes again, biting her lip.

“Can we talk? Without whatever is on the tablet distracting you,” she looked up properly, her eyes following him as he moved to sit in the chair across the desk from her.

“I’m working,” she frowned at him slightly.

“It’s almost eight in the evening, you should be going home.”

“When did you become my boss?” she raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’m just saying, it’s getting late,” he shrugged, “What are you looking at?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she grinned slightly, biting her lip again as she raised her eyebrows at him, “You asked me, at the weekend, you asked why I travel so much, why I don’t stay in one place.”

“Yeah, you like travelling?”

“And I get cases like this,” she grinned, turning the tablet to face him showing him the brain scan.

“You… that’s incredible,” his eyes widened as he leant forward to look closer at the scan, “You’re going to operate on that?”

“I’m definitely going to try,” she nodded, turning the tablet around again to look at it again, “Yeah, I can resect the whole thing.”

“Where is that taking you to then?” he chuckled slightly, sitting back again.

“New York,” she grinned sheepishly at him.

“When are you going?”

“Two weeks,” she shrugged, “I need to stay here for the rest of the week, and I’m busy next week. So probably the week after.”

“And then you’re back here?”

“I haven’t planned that far ahead, why?”

“Because I want to take you out for dinner.”

“How many times do I have to turn you down for you to get the hint?”

“We had dinner together on Saturday.”

“We ate food in the same room to keep up our energy, that’s not the same thing,” she raised an eyebrow at him.

“But you’ve avoided me ever since,” he leant forward on the desk.

“I told you, I’ve been busy,” she avoided his gaze again, looking at the tablet.

“Then why can’t you look at me?”

“I really don’t like repeating myself,” she shook her head slightly.

She continued to look through the scans, focusing on them as he went quiet. Suddenly her chair moved, and he was knelt down in front of her, taking the tablet of out of her hands and placing it on the desk. His hand moved over the knee of her bent leg as the other took her hand, gently squeezing it.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

“Making you look at me,” he smirked slightly.

“We agreed from the start that this was just sex, just two adults having fun. You said you weren’t looking to date yet anyway, yet here you are trying to get me to date you,” she sighed.

“Why not?”

“I’ve told you why not. I travel, all the time. I can’t… I don’t do relationships. I’ve not done relationships for a very long time and I have no future plan to try them out again.”

“You can’t deny that there’s more than a sexual attraction here,” he murmured, bringing her hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles gently.

“I… Derek,” she sighed softly, “I can’t.”

“Just one date. Dinner. That’s all.”

“I’m busy, I don’t have any time to… I fly out Sunday night and I don’t know when I’m coming back.”

“What are you doing Friday night?”

“My mom gets back Friday night,” she shrugged, biting her lip.

“Saturday night?”

“Sleeping,” she laughed softly.

“So, we’re not even going to have sex again before you go?”

“You had a whole weekend of sex, and you want more?”

“You don’t?” he smirked slightly as he moved his hand from her leg to her waist.

“I might…” she murmured, leaning toward him, lowering her leg off the chair as she tangled her fingers into his hair.

“Hello,” he whispered, pushing her hair behind her ear.

“Hi,” she grinned slightly.

“This is more, you know this is more,” he murmured, leaning forward to press his lips to hers a moment.

“I know,” she sighed, closing her eyes as she pressed her forehead to his.

“Then let me take you to dinner,” he gently nudged his nose against her, making her laugh slightly.

“You have high expectations of me, of where this could go,” she bit her lip slightly.

“Just dinner, maybe sex afterwards,” he smirked slightly, “I know what I’m getting myself into here.”

“You think you do,” she shook her head slightly, pulling back from him before standing up out of the chair.

“So you travel a lot,” he shrugged, standing up and moving his arms around her middle.

“Yes, I travel a lot,” she looked up at him, her hands resting against his chest.

“And…?” he grinned slightly.

“And I don’t do relationships,” she tilted her head to the side slightly.

“I’m not asking you to be my girlfriend, I’m asking you to go on a date with me,” he pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

“Dates tend to lead to relationships,” she raised an eyebrow.

“Depends how good the dates are,” he shrugged. 

“You’re just going to keep pushing until I say yes, aren’t you?”

“It’s quite possible, yeah.”

“Fine. Tomorrow night, you can take me for dinner. But that’s it, that’s all I’m giving you.”

“Really?” he grinned, resting his forehead against hers again.

“Yes, and I’ll try not to change my mind about it.”

“Thank you,” he kissed her gently.

“Don’t thank me yet,” she nipped his lower lip as his hands moved over her ass, moving her closer against him.

“You wore a skirt today,” he observed, his lips moving to her jawline.

“I have to get going,” she murmured, tilting her head to the side slightly.

“Where do you have to get to?” he whispered, his lips travelling to just below her ear.

“Rest up for the big date tomorrow,” she smirked as she stepped back from him and picked up the tablet again, “And a surgery to plan for.”

“Who sent that case to you anyway?” he asked as he leant against the desk, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Erm, Mount Sinai,” she grinned as she started to pack up her things.

“They called you for a consult?”

“Why are you questioning that?”

“Well, I just… They didn’t call me,” he said with a frown.

“Are your feelings hurt?” she laughed slightly, pulling her coat on.

“They kind of are,” he said with a slight laugh.

“They probably got in touch with me because I kind of specialise paediatrically,” she shrugged, “and I can travel. Can you get on a plane whenever you want and go to New York for the day? For a week, cover the initial recovery time?”

“You make valid points…”

“There’s also the fact that I’m better than you,” she smirked, pulling her bag over her shoulder.

“Who said that you’re better than me?”

“I say.”

“I’ve been doing this longer than you have, I’m the head of neurosurgery here, I was the head back in New York… I’ve published and had successful clinical trials.”

“Your arrogance isn’t attractive,” she shook her head with a slight laugh, heading towards the door.

“You’re being mean tonight,” he accused, following her out of the room.

“Did I or did I not agree to go out with you tomorrow night?”

“Did that use up all your quota of being nice to me?”

“It definitely did,” she said, pressing the button for the elevator, “Aren’t you on call tonight?”

“Did me still being in scrubs give that away?”

“No, I made the call schedule,” she grinned at him as she stepped on to the elevator, “Goodnight, Dr Shepherd.”

“Goodnight, Dr Grey,” he chuckled softly with a shake of his head as the door closed.

She didn’t really know why she gave in. Maybe to get him to stop, maybe she did really want to go on a date with him. That could be part of the fun, couldn’t it? She just had to not get attached, that would be bad. Getting attached would ruin a lot, so she couldn’t let that happen. If she could keep it light, keep it casual, maybe even convince him that he didn’t really like her like that. She’d be gone next week anyway, and truthfully, she didn’t know when she’d come back. It was just a date and she didn’t need to overthink it.

Now, she was just going to head back home and look over the scans for this case she’d had sent over. She was pretty sure she could resect the whole thing. The surgery she’d done on Emma the previous week had gone well, and she’d checked on her earlier that day, please with the progress of her recovery, no deficits. It always amazed her how quickly children bounced back after surgery, it’s what she loved most about paediatrics. It just hurt twice as much when she lost them.


	14. Chapter 14

Meredith Grey was on a date. She hadn’t been on a date for at least five years, and even then she couldn’t remember any significant time before that. It was nicer than she cared to admit. She was seeing a different side to Derek Shepherd. He’d been charming with her before, of course he had, but there was something different about this. He hung on to every word she said, he made her feel like the only person in the room. He was constantly complimenting her, and it made her feel amazing.

The whole time she had been getting ready she’d been itching to call it off. Send him a text and just cancel. Dating really wasn’t her thing. She really didn’t think it was her thing. Except, she was here now. She’d dressed up, he’d picked her up, and now they were sat having dinner, laughing over nothing as the conversation flowed so easily, and for a moment she wondered if she really could try this whole relationship thing with him. Would it really be so bad? Could he really understand if she had to drop everything and fly out for a week or two? Could she consider… she didn’t want to finish that thought. She didn’t think she had to change how she lived, or how she worked for him.

His hand linked with hers on top of the table as they waited for the bill to arrive, telling her about his first solo surgery. The way he spoke, the way he told stories, she couldn’t help but listen to his every word. A soft laugh escaped her lips, unable to keep the soft grin off her face as he finished off his story and the waiter came by to take care of the bill, which Derek had pulled his card out for before she could even think to.

“Let me pay half,” she said, squeezing his hand gently.

“Oh no, I asked you out to dinner, this is on me,” he smirked at her, “You can pay next time.”

“Next time?” she raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yes, next time. Let’s get going,” he dropped her hand as he stood up, holding out his hand for her again.

“Very confident of you,” she commented, standing herself and taking his hand, letting their fingers join together again.

“You can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy this, you haven’t stopped smiling all night,” he laughed softly, pulling her closer as they stepped outside and wrapping his arm around her waist.

“I… I did,” she murmured, her head moving to his shoulder as a slight blush tinted her cheeks.

“I’m glad,” he pressed a kiss against the top of her head, and she shivered involuntarily, “Cold?”

“Hmm, a little.”

“Let’s get to the car then,” he suggested, leading her to the car park.

“You have a nice car,” she mused, staying close against him as they walked, seeking his body heat.

“I take pride in my car, it’s possibly one of my favourite things in life,” he chuckled softly as he unlocked the doors.

“One of?” she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, one of,” he murmured as he pressed his lips to hers a moment as they stood beside the car.

“What are your other favourite things in life?” she whispered as he moved her back against the side of the car.

“You’ll just have to go on more dates with me to find out,” he smirked, his lips finding hers again as his hands moved to her waist.

Her hands moved over his shoulders as she returned his kisses, that familiar pull she felt whenever she was with him making an appearance. She didn’t know much about first dates, but she did know there was some rule about not having sex on the first date. She didn’t think they’d be sticking to that rule.

They were interrupted by the ringing of his phone and he groaned softly, gently nipping her lower lip before pulling back and answering it. He motioned for her to get in the car before walking a little bit away to talk on the phone, seemingly angry at whoever had called. She frowned slightly, feeling more than a little out of place as she climbed in the passenger seat. She pulled out her phone, going through her emails as she waited for him to come back.

The confirmation for her flight on Sunday had come through and she double checked the details, setting a reminder on her phone for when she would need to set off for her. Derek was taking a while. She locked her phone, tapping her fingers against the back of it and leaning her head against the window. She could probably fall asleep right here.

“Hey, sorry about that,” he said as he climbed in the drivers’ seat, making her jump slightly.

“It’s okay,” she smiled slightly, putting her seatbelt on.

“Hmm,” he turned to face her, cupping her cheek in his hand as he leant forward, pressing a soft kiss against her lips, then touching his forehead to hers, “No, it isn’t.”

“You had to take a call, it’s fine,” she smiled still, pressing a quick kiss to his lips, “I’m not ready for this date to end, unless you need to be somewhere…?”

“I’m not ready for this date to end either, there’s nowhere else I need or want to be,” he assured her, kissing her again, a little longer this time.

She pressed her lips back against his, her hand moving to his thigh as she leaned over the centre console. He chuckled softly against her lips, his fingers moving through her hair with a gentle tug. Her hand gently squeezed his thigh as his tongue nudged against her lips, but she pulled back slightly.

“I don’t want to invite myself over, but…” he trailed off with a slight smirk, his fingers still tangled in her hair.

“I hope you plan on finding somewhere to live by the time I get back,” she laughed softly, biting her lip.

“But you have such a nice place,” he pouted slightly, playfully.

“I don’t normally bring anyone back to my place, you should count yourself lucky,” she raised an eyebrow, “We can go back to mine for coffee.”

“I feel special,” he grinned, kissing her cheek before they pulled back from each other.

“Just drive,” she laughed softly, shaking her head as she sat back in her seat, unlocking her phone again.

She started drafting out an email to Ellis, letting her know her travel plans. You could say it was an agreement between them. Meredith told Ellis her travel plans, and Ellis didn’t pester her about getting a permanent job, settling down. It worked, and it meant her mother wasn’t calling her every day. Some days it was easier to not have to deal with other people, people she knew… or people who knew.

“Who are you messaging?” he asked, glancing over at her.

“Who called you?” she raised an eyebrow at him, challenging him almost.

“Touché,” he grinned, keeping his eyes on the road but resting his hand on her thigh, bare from the skirt of her dressing riding up.

“It’s just work,” she shrugged, copying her flight information into the email.

“You’re not supposed to be working, you’re supposed to be having fun,” he said, gently squeezing her thigh.

“We’re almost back, and then there’ll be lots of fun. I’m done now anyway,” she put the phone in her bag, moving her hand over his.

“Good.”

Her thighs pressed together slightly as his hand moved further up her thigh and he groaned slightly, squeezing her thigh again and making her laugh slightly. She turned her head to grin at him, biting her lip as he parked up the car. He turned off the engine and turned to face her, and she didn’t miss the challenging look in his eyes as he narrowed them slightly.

“You’re playing hard to get all of a sudden.”

“It was my understanding that first dates are completely innocent, you’re coming over for coffee,” she leaned forward, gently kissing his cheek before climbing out of the car, grabbing her bag.

She stood on the sidewalk, waiting for Derek to join her, a chill running down her spine as a brief gust of wind passing by her. He walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close, his warm hand against her bare back.

“Let’s get you inside before you freeze to death,” he pressed a kiss against the top of her head.

“You’re so overdramatic,” she rolled her eyes, pulling back but sliding her hand into his as they walked into the building.

“You’re too serious,” he shrugged as they stepped on to the elevator.

“Seriously?” she turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

“Seriously,” he grinned, pushing her back against the wall of the elevator, his lips lowering to her ear in a softer whisper, “There’s just something about elevators.”

“You are misbehaving,” she gasped slightly as his lips hovered over her neck, not quite touching her skin that was starting to heat up with his proximity.

“I’m just all about the fun,” he grinned, stepping back and pulling her by the hand as he moved off the elevator.

She laughed for what could possibly be the hundredth time that night, linking their fingers together as they made it to the door of her apartment and she pulled out her keys, quickly unlocking the door for them, pulling him inside. She groaned softly as he came up behind her, pushing her hair out of the way as he kissed the back of her neck.

“Coffee, Derek,” she murmured, even though she leant back against him as he pulled the zip down on the back of her dress.

“It’s a bit late for coffee, don’t you think?” he whispered, his lips by her ear again.

“I have de-caff,” she protested, but let the dress fall to the floor as his hand moved around to her abdomen, holding her against him.

“You say one thing, but your body is saying another,” his voice sounded deeper, a husk to it as he pressed his lips against her neck.

“You don’t even want a drink?” she asked, slightly breathless as she felt his erection pressing against her.

“I’m ready for dessert,” he groaned slightly, gently sucking at the hollow spot where her neck met her shoulders.

“Oh,” she gasped slightly with a soft moan, her head tilting back against his shoulder.

“Maybe I will take that drink though,” he smirked, kissing her cheek before releasing her and moving past her into the kitchen.

“You’re a complete tease,” she groaned, picking up her dress off the floor and carrying it through to the kitchen, only in her underwear.

“Where do you keep your alcohol?” he asked, grabbing two glasses out of the cupboard.

“I have wine, or I have tequila,” she offered, throwing her dress over the back of a chair as she walked up to him.

“What are you having?” his arms circled her waist, and she started to unbutton his shirt.

“Hmm, tequila,” she shrugged, slipping his shirt off his shoulders, leaving him bare chested as she pulled it on.

“You can’t just steal my clothes,” he chuckled, tapping her ass playfully as she walked past him.

“I was cold,” she shrugged, grinning as she opened up a top cupboard, standing on the tip of her toes as she grabbed the bottle of tequila, knowing it would make the shirt rise up.

As expected, he moved close behind her, settling his hands on her hips and as he pressed her forward against the counter, his hips firm against her ass. A soft moan escaped her as she felt his hard against her again, his lips against her neck, just under her jaw.

“Now you’re being a tease,” he murmured against her skin before nipping it gently.

“I didn’t do anything,” she moaned slightly, her eyes closing as her head tilted to the side, gripping the neck of the tequila bottle.

“You really don’t want to have sex tonight?” he pressed a kiss just below her ear. 

“I didn’t think we were going to have sex tonight,” she shrugged slightly, the shirt falling off her shoulders.

“You’re about to go away for who knows how long and you thought we wouldn’t be having sex?” he chuckled softly as she turned to face him.

“I feel like you’re making fun of me now,” she rolled her eyes, her hands resting on his bare chest.

“And what would I be making fun of you for?” he smirked slightly, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t do first dates! And apparently there’s all these rules about not having sex, and I just thought…” she trailed off, leaning her forehead against his shoulder.

“Who told you that?” he asked.

“I’m not telling you,” she mumbled, hiding her face from him.

“Tell me,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as his fingers moved slowly up her sides.

“No, it’s fine… I’m not, no,” she stammered slightly, biting her lip.

She squealed slightly, feeling as though her heart might jump out of her chest as he tickled her sides, and she couldn’t help but laugh against him.

“Derek, stop!”

“Meredith, tell me…” he chuckled, still tickling her underneath the shirt as she tried to squirm away from him.

“Stop!” she protested still between her laughter.

“Tell me and I’ll stop.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll tell you!” she gave up, her cheeks flushed as she leaned forward against him, his arms moving around her middle when he stopped.

“Okay, but I hope you’re not just saying that to get me to stop…”

“I looked it up on the internet,” she murmured, her face buried against his shoulder again as she felt her skin heat up more in embarrassment.

“Meredith,” he breathed, lifting one hand to tangle his fingers through her hair to urge her to look up at him, and he pressed his lips against hers.

She moved her lips with his as his arm returned around her waist, a breathless gasp leaving her as he lifted her up onto the counter and she wrapped her legs around him, holding him close against her. Their lips moved in their familiar dance, her hands gripping slightly at his shoulders as he moved his hands up her sides. She pulled back to catch her breath, their foreheads touching as her tongue darted out over her bottom lip.

“You…” he whispered, lifting one hand to her cheek.

“Me?” she breathed.

“Adorable, amazing, sexy,” he murmured, pressing a short kiss against her lips, “How did you expect me to resist? You wore that dress, you look gorgeous, and now you’re half naked, wearing my shirt with your legs wrapped around me.”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t be able to resist,” she smirked slightly, her fingers playing with the small curls of hair at the nape of his neck.

“I might not even make it to the bedroom,” he smirked back at her, kissing her again, harder this time, not moving his lips from hers.

She returned his kisses, her fingers gripping his hair slightly as they tangled further into his dark curls, her legs tightening around him. She didn’t want to let go. The feeling in the pit of her stomach grew. Her want, her need to be slower to him, to not let go. She was happy. She felt happy, she was scared as hell, but she was happy. And right now she didn’t want to be anywhere else or with anyone else. So maybe it was time for her to lean into the fear.


End file.
